


Reclaiming the Queen

by GuiltyKingOumaShu



Series: Reclaiming [3]
Category: Guilty Crown
Genre: Canon Continuation, F/M, Multiple Factions, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2018-04-29 03:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 142,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5114054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuiltyKingOumaShu/pseuds/GuiltyKingOumaShu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fight over control of Tokyo continues as the forces of the SDF, Da'ath and the Undertakers continue to clash with each other. While the military suffered a crushing defeat in loop seven against the Genesis, so did Mana against Da'ath. After Yuu manages to successfully transfer her title of Eve over to Inori, the latter finds herself forced to face the cold gazes of her former allies, who suddenly treat her with distrust. A failed assassination attempt from their own ranks leave her and Shu no other choice but to flee and seek a new place for them to hide from Da'ath in, leaving them vulnerable in the process. When the mysterious organization struck, the king and queen were entirely unprepared. Getting captured by them, Yuu decides to take Inori with him, claiming that she was Da'ath's property to begin with. Shu is allowed some time to rethink his stance on the whole matter, only to realize that his position had never been as clear as it had now. Da'ath had to die and he would be the man to crush them like the pitiful insect they were to him. With new resolve, he at long last accepts his crown completely and rallies in his vassals as he sets out to get his queen back from the clutches of his adversaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Knighthood

**Reclaiming the Queen**

**1\. Knighthood**

„Damnit, Shu, why won't you pick up? What's going on over there…?"

Souta found himself cursing at his cell phone as he put it away, getting irritated of the constant dialing tone it cursed him with, instead of granting him to hear his friend's voice for a change. He hadn't been contacted by him or Tsugumi ever since he had heard that Inori supposedly became Eve and it started to worry him. At first, he got the notifications that at least his messages had been received and read, but even that had stopped since the day before yesterday. What the hell did that mean?

He bit down on his lip and frowned. Inori became Eve five days ago. Contact was lost 2 days ago. Was there a connection? Did something happen to Inori? Or Shu? Or both? He wouldn't know.

All he _did_ know, was that they were about to get in trouble, since both, Arisa and Da'ath have begun searching for them respectively. He wanted to warn them, but that was kind of hard to do when no one was picking up their damn phones!

He had barely finished that thought when his own phone started to vibrate in his pocket, causing him to take it out hastily with a desperate expression. Could it be…?

Desperation was soon to be turned into disappointment when he identified the caller ID to merely be one of Arisa's goons. He received the call anyway, although unable to hide the bitterness in his voice once he replied:

"What is it?"

"The hell are you? I want to speak with Miss Kuhouin." He heard the harsh voice of an older man coming from the other end of the line.

"I am Souta Tamedate, Miss Kuhouin's assistant." His boredom was clearly audible due to the fact that this very same sentence had lately become his most used one when answering the phone. Seriously, was it so hard to get the news around? He knew he didn't actually look the part, having been a mere salary men a couple of days ago, but he was with Da'ath now and a direct subordinate of Miss _fucking_ Kuhouin. You would expect that kinda rumor to spread somehow, no? 'Tis serious business.

"Yeah, well then give me Miss Kuhouin." The dark haired assistant sighed. There we go again.

"She's busy. She has authorized me to receive all the incoming reports in her stead." He explained to the man like he had to the dozens others that day.

"I've not been told about this." Of course he hadn't. It would have required him to ask around, inform himself, actually _care_. Except he didn't. He only wanted to get paid. Well, not long ago, he supposed he himself hadn't been that different, either. Life sure as hell had been more simple then than it was now.

"You've been told now. If you don't believe me, I will gladly redirect your call to her. It won't be me who will be wasting her time and face unemployment as a direct result." As his annoyance clearly showed in his voice, the mercenary on the other end grumbled nervously.

"Fine, tell her we found him."

"Found who?"

"The guy she asked us to trace, Ouma Shu. Who else?" He received a harsh response, causing him to nearly drop his phone from shock.

"You found him? How?"

"Some homeless bastard drunkard kept mumbling on and on about how he suddenly got cured from the Apocalypse Virus overnight. He said it was due to alcohol, but we knew better. Had had to be the work of Yuzuriha Inori instead, so we decided to investigate. However, when we got to the poor bastards current 'residence', we had to make the unfortunate realization that we were too late. The envoy had already found them first. We were forced to watch from a safe distance as he and his forces captured the target and his allies and moved them to an unknown location."

Souta gulped nervously. Shu got captured? By Da'ath? He wasn't informed of this! Did it only happen recently? The mercenary awaited his response, so he tried to remain cool.

"So you lost him again? That's not the definition of 'found him'. When was that anyway?"

"A couple hours ago."

"And you only report this now?" Souta gritted his teeth at him angrily, though the man in question couldn't see, obviously.

"Why report when you have nothing to say but 'we saw him but lost him again', anyway? Are you stupid? That's how you lose your contracts. No, we chose to investigate the battleground as soon as they were gone instead, before the SDF could come and lock that place up. It so happens we found something interesting."

"What did you find…?" The black haired man asked impatiently.

"The envoy took all hostages with him, but didn't bother to clean up the mess he had caused. Probably because he didn't have a reason to anyway. It made things easier for us, though, as there was a certain robot lying among the corpses. It appears to be a modified espionage drone, though it's hard to tell with how beat up it is. The device in itself is beyond repair, but we managed to find a tracking device in it. And as luck would have it, it seems to be tracking no one else but Ouma Shu."

Arisa's assistant couldn't help but furrow his brows. He couldn't understand why something like that would be lying around there.

"How…convenient…" He eventually mumbled into his phone.

"Yeah, right? We tracked down the signal and found Ouma Shu as he was heading back to his base with some of his allies. He was missing Yuzuriha Inori, though. We followed them unnoticed and managed to determine his hideout's exact location. I am uploading the GPS coordinates now. I can assume that we will be rewarded accordingly?"

"That's for Miss Kuhouin to decide. I will merely relay the information. She will contact you."

"Alright. I will await her call then." With that, the mercenary simply hung up on him. Following that, Souta's phone informed him about some incoming data. A map opened itself automatically and zoomed in on Yokohama where a bright, yellow point flashed up at the location of Shu's hideout. He bit on his lower lip again once he confirmed that the coordinates matched the actual place. Shu really had been found out. Damnit, what now?

He had the information. Arisa hadn't seen it yet. It would be easy to delete it and pretend for it to never have come in, but that would only work short term. The mercenaries would eventually want their paycheck and would call again once they wouldn't receive it in a timely manner. He could pretend to have forgotten once, but that would already put him into a bad spot and would gain Shu only little time. A second time would be impossible and would cause him to look suspicious. Too much risk for little gain.

But he couldn't just give the information to her, either. God knew what she would do with it. The fire of vengeance burned strongly in her, making her willing to step over bodies just to get her revenge.

He sunk deep into his own thoughts as he sat down on one of the expensive sofas in Arisa's mansion, allowing himself to relax and sink into its soft cushions, his look aimed at the ceiling. Maybe it was time? Time for him to make his move? The envoy had said his chances with Arisa weren't nil, so he had subtly tried to get closer to her, but the woman in question was stubborn and dead set on revenge. She didn't notice his advances at all. He figured it might have been because he had tried to be too indirect about it. Maybe he needed to push her harder? He could do that…the problem, however, lied in the fact that it was a onetime opportunity. He only had one shot. If he missed it, he was out. For good.

He sighed long and deeply. It wouldn't be his first rejection and honestly? He could very well do without another one. That's why he had tried to test the waters carefully for a while now in the first place. And that might exactly be the reason for his lack of success. This wasn't the time to be wishy-washy about this. No, it was time to be bold like Yahiro, brave like Shu and confident like this Gai person he had read about in the files of him Arisa had. He looked forward with determination as he stood up. It was show time.

-GC-

Completely oblivious to all this, Arisa merely sat in her study, going through a pile of documents on her desk rather absentmindedly. They concerned business matters of the Kuhouin group, but despite their importance, she couldn't quite bring herself to focus properly. Ever since the sad news of Gai's death had reached her, she just couldn't bring herself to give it her all. Every last remaining bit of her power was spent finding Shu and planning to have her revenge on him for taking Gai from her. But things weren't exactly going smoothly. She heard the envoy was looking for him and Inori as well…and if he would get to them first, she would stand no chance at all to ever harm them again. The envoy would ensure maximum security at all times. It had to be avoided.

But so far, no reports had come in…she wondered if it wasn't already too late. She gnawed on her thumb's nail in frustration. Would she be denied of her chance to get revenge? Would she be forced to acknowledge the false king that was Ouma Shu? Never. She would rather die.

A knock was heard coming from the door, making her blink in surprise.

"Come in." She said, pleased to see that it was her dark haired assistant who came in. Just who she needed. Maybe he could cheer her up somehow with his silly antics? He had a certain talent for that. With a small smile, she asked him:

"Ah, Souta. What can I do for you?"

"I just came to check up on you. You look terrible." He told her with a sad frown. It was the truth, though. There were bags under her eyes from her lack of sleep and her hair…wasn't exactly a mess, but he just knew that she hadn't spent much effort into keeping it neat and beautiful like she would normally do. This wasn't the Arisa he had known for years. This one was too fragile, too vulnerable. Or perhaps it really was the Arisa he knew, just without her trying to hide it all behind a mask of confidence? Had it become too bothersome for her to do in her current state? Or was it because it wasn't worth putting on around him? You know, like you wouldn't bother getting naked in front of your dog…?

She leaned forward on her hands and smirked at him. "Haven't you become quite bold, telling that to your boss? If I felt like it, I could lower your wage, you know?"

The man shrugged at that and sent a cocky grin right back at her.

"I'll take the risk, seeing as to how money doesn't exactly hold much value in Tokyo right now anyway."

He heard her sigh. "Well, I guess that's true. The apocalypse was meant to be happening around now…but with how things turned out to be…" She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. "Now Ouma is Adam and would become king of the world…that can't be allowed to happen. I need to stop it somehow, but time is running out. If Yuu finds him first…"

"Would it be that bad?" Souta wanted to know, causing her to look at him as if he has just said something stupid.

"Of course it would, Souta. Would you want to be ruled by a failure like him? With an Eve at his feet that would do anything he asks of her like the dimwit she is?"

Souta looked away in defiance. "Aren't your views on them far too harsh? If Shu and Inori really had such low personalities, why did you become friends with them all those years ago in the first place?"

"I didn't know better…" She told him with a gaze lowered from sadness.

"Well, so did they when we betrayed them…they never saw it coming."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" She asked with narrowed eyes, sounding hurt about the fact that he was taking their side.

"Do I have to choose?" His voice sounded pained as he asked that with a weak smile.

"Of course you do, Souta. This isn't a game. Our future is at stake here."

He shook his head slowly. "I want to be on your side. I want to see things your way, Arisa. But I can't. Your view on all this is clouded by your hatred. You only see what you want to see. You try to put Shu and Inori in a bad light because they were rivals of the man you wanted to see in charge, but let me ask you: How would he have been better? I have read about him in the reports. A man coldblooded enough to abandon all his allies in a heartbeat, being together with the former Eve, a woman you yourself described to me as being a monster. Why would such a rule be better than Shu and Inori's?"

She suddenly got up from her seat, leaning forward on her desk with both arms, clearly enraged. "Because Gai was a man who knew what he was doing. He had a plan for everything and the ability to make people follow him. Even with that abomination of an Eve as his queen, he would have been able to ensure peace and prosperity for all of us."

"And where would you have fit into all this, Arisa? His mistress? His little fling on the side whenever Shu's sister wasn't in the mood? How could you be fine with that?" He asked provokingly, letting his hand fly through the air with vigor.

She glared at him angrily before looking away in defeat. "It wasn't supposed to be that way. Mana was a self-centered bitch who only cared about herself and Shu. I thought Gai would be more likely to win the lottery than for her to actually change her mind…except I was wrong. I guess the Ouma bloodline is just too good at ruining stuff…"

He saw her turn around and folding her arms in front of her chest. A pose to hide her sad face, maybe?

"The way I see it, she might have actually saved you. If the rumors are true and Mana really was as selfish as you claim, she would have never allowed you to even look weirdly into Tsutsugami Gai's general direction. She would have killed you. And even if we say she wouldn't have made him Adam, a future in which you reduce yourself to be nothing more but a mere concubine would be nothing near what you deserve, Arisa."

His boss whirled around to lock eyes with him again, clearly displeased about his words. Walking up to him, she grabbed him by his collar, to which he winced a bit, but continued to stare back at her more or less confidently.

"Saved me? That's what you call this mess? You know how much time and money I have put into planning all this? Only to have this moronic woman destroy everything in the end…and you _seriously_ have the nerve to glorify her actions?"

They stared at each other, one angry, the other defiant…until Arisa eventually pushed him away and turned around again.

"I thought you would understand once I showed you the world for what it really was, told you the things you didn't know. But even with all the knowledge, you still know nothing. You understand nothing. I was wrong…" She admitted sadly.

"You are wrong, indeed." Souta said once he caught his balance again, fixing his collar. "I do understand you. I just don't agree with you. You are a smart woman, Arisa. Even an idiot like me can see that. But even through you are smart, you act so foolish. I may be a fool who doesn't get much, but I at least can see that the path you had chosen would have never made you happy. Why can't you? The future you may have envisioned sharing with Gai…it was all but a mere dream. It would have never worked."

"Shut up!" She yelled at him. "So what if it was a dream? What if it was ambitious? Is _this_ better right now?" She asked provokingly as she spread out her arms to make clear that she meant their current situation.

This bloody fool, she thought. What did he know? He didn't have to live in absolute loneliness for the last five years now, did he? He wasn't faced with the prospect of possibly staying like this all his life. He had had friends. He could keep trying to ask women out…eventually he would find one who would like and accept him, but Arisa? Arisa would never have time for friends and with every man she would meet, she would have to carefully evaluate if he actually cared about her or rather the money she owned. It wasn't that easy.

Gai wouldn't have been like that. He wouldn't have cared for money at all. That's not the kind of man he had been. He had been passionate and loyal to his true love. A true prince. Someone who should have become king.

If only Arisa could have had succeeded in swaying his heart, make him hers…she could have at long last been allowed to feel safe in someone else's presence. Someone around whom she could put away the masks she was usually wearing around others. To be herself. That person would have been all she ever needed.

But that person was gone.

And now it was back to being her lonely, miserable self. This was supposed to be better than her unrealistic dreams of being with Gai? Don't make her laugh. The dreams themselves may have been almost unreachable, but they had still been a goal worth chasing nonetheless. Anything was better than…than… _this_.

"As someone who truly cares about you, I will have to say: Yes." Souta eventually replied with a serious expression. "You may think becoming that man's mistress would have made you happy, but all I can see in that outcome is your ruin. You deserve more than that, Arisa. Better. If Mana hadn't ruined it for you, I sure as hell would have tried. You would probably think it was betrayal, when it would actually be protection. To protect the otherwise wise princess from being so utterly foolish."

"And who do you think you are? My knight in shining armor?" She asked him with a mocking grin.

"Didn't you say I was? That I couldn't be a king, but that I might very well be a knight." He reminded her of an earlier conversation they had once shared. She only folded her arms in front of her cockily at that.

"I was trying to humor you, feeling you deserved it for having my back. Your actions right now show me, however, that you are unfit to be even that." Her look became cold as ice. "I am Arisa Kuhouin. I am in no need of protection. And certainly not yours."

The dark haired assistant closed his eyes with a bitter frown, unable to hide how much her words hurt him. Another rejection again, huh?

"Is that so…? I was under the impression you needed someone to rely on and guard your happiness, but it appears all you really wanted was a stupid dog to entertain you. Well, I am done with being a mere pet, so if you have no need for me, I suppose I might just leave…"

"Leave?" She laughed at him. "Where would you go? You are with Da'ath now, Souta. They will never let you walk away from them just like that."

"Perhaps not…" He told her with a lowered gaze from sadness. "But Da'ath is a big organization. I am sure there will be a place for me somewhere in it."

"You would bite the hand that fed you? It was I who brought you in here, and now you simply betray me? Do you have no honor?" She asked him, outraged about his declaration. She had risked her life getting him to see reason, only to have him see nothing in the end and spit into her face like that. Unforgivable.

"Of course not, Arisa. I am your friend and have been for many years. You might not have seen me as one, but I did and still do. If you need my help, I will help you, but if you don't, then there is nothing left for me to do." He took out his phone which still held the coordinates of Shu's hideout. "Here, take it."

"What am I supposed to do with your phone? I have my own." She wondered, slightly confused at his actions. As soon as she had taken it from him, however, its holo-screen came to life and revealed the last thing he had been looking at. Which happened to be Shu's exact whereabouts. Astonished, she took a step back.

"T-this is…?"

Souta nodded at her. "Shu's hideout. They found it. Inori isn't there with him, meaning…"

She smirked eagerly and in high spirits once she caught on to his train of thoughts. "…if I told the SDF of this, they would swarm him before he could react and there would be no one to protect him. Da'ath would never know unless you told them." She raised a brow at him as if to silently ask if he would, to which he merely shook his head.

"I won't rat you out if you do, but I will have to remind you that it's not only Shu who is in there. Yahiro, Hare, Ayase, Tsugumi and countless other people will be there. If you sic the SDF on them, they might all die in the massacre that would surely occur."

Her grin only widened, even getting slightly sinister as she began snickering to herself.

"So? They are working with Ouma, so they aren't the slightest bit better than him. They can die together with him. A small price to pay for revenge…!" When she saw Souta's defeated look in his eyes, however, she visibly calmed down again, obviously feeling bad for the man who had given her this valuable information after she had lashed out at him so mercilessly. She averted her eyes shamefully and cleared her throat.

"Er…I have to apologize for what I just said. I haven't been able to think clearly for the last few days. You said some mean things and I thought you might turn on me in the end, but I can see that you were only worried. Thank you for giving me this, Souta. I know it wasn't easy for you. I really, really appreciate it." She told him with a small smile, but his mood didn't improve at all.

She thought about ways to cheer him up somehow since giving him money like always wouldn't work anymore now that money wouldn't do him any good. As she was thinking about ways to make him smile again, a certain idea crossed his mind and she spontaneously decided to give him a hug, effectively catching him by surprise. She held back a small chuckle from seeing how simple a man Souta was. A small hug was all it took to lift his spirits.

"You are a real friend, after all. I nearly forgot. Forgive me. I wasn't wrong to bring you here at all." She said to him with a gentle voice.

It took Souta all of his willpower to not eagerly return the hug and remain standing there as he was. He hadn't given her his phone for this, he thought. There was still more to do. And so he dryly said:

"You are welcome. Your next actions will determine if this gift of mine was a parting gift or not, though."

She broke the hug and looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"You have a choice, Arisa. You can use the information on this phone to get your revenge right now, but it would kill everyone and show that you will forever live in the past. A foolish princess. Or you could ignore it and show me that you still are the wise one I know. Which one will it be, I wonder?"

"What the hell are you even talking about?" She asked again with a crooked smile. "Why _shouldn't_ I use this? Ouma's friends are nothing to me. I would lose nothing at all."

"You would lose me." He told her with seriousness in his voice, as well as a bit of sadness. "Those guys are my friends as well. If you choose to kill them, you will effectively show me that you only care about yourself and no one else. There would be nothing left worth protecting if that's the case. A woman who lives only for herself and her own revenge will forever live in the past. I can't protect you from the past. My presence would serve no purpose. But if you choose to ignore the data you currently hold in your hands,…" He left the end to his sentence open to imply it would have the opposite effect. She narrowed her eyes on him once she had heard him say all that.

"So you are trying to make me choose between our friendship and my revenge because you selfishly decided that I can't have both?"

"I am a loyal friend to you, Arisa. I always followed you anywhere, always did what you told me to do. I even shot Shu for you. I always chose your side. This time I am asking you to choose mine. Is that really so much to ask for?"

"It is. When the other option is the perfect opportunity to make Ouma pay for his crimes…" She told him bitterly as she turned around, showing him her back. "I am sorry, but you are overestimating your own worth to me. I am grateful for your help, but it's not more important to me than this…" Her eyes fell on the small device in her hand and heard her assistant utter a disappointed sigh behind her.

"I see. So this is your answer. Then I suppose this is goodbye, Arisa. I hope you will find what you are looking for." This was followed by him turning around as well to leave.

She gritted her teeth all of a sudden, having somehow hoped that he had only been bluffing all this time. It was Souta, after all. Her lapdog that would always try so hard to not make her angry or displeased with him. She couldn't really imagine him walking away on her like that. But apparently, he did. What had gotten into him? It wasn't like him at all. A frown appeared on her face.

She had brought Souta in for a reason. He was trustworthy and usually quite reliable as well. One of the few people she could really count on to help her out not because of her money, but because he cared about her. He had proved that fact to her already. Not only that, but he also cheered her up with his presence, having that adorable dorky side of his. She hated to admit it, but if he were to go now, she would undoubtedly lose something big. She would return to her lonely self…for good this time. She would miss him…

Her eyes opened wide all of a sudden. Wait, what? She would miss him? Souta? She would have never thought. He had always been around, so the mere possibility of him ever leaving again had never even crossed her mind. So it was true…you never see the true value in something until it's about to get taken from you…

But how important was Souta to her? Enough to give up on her revenge for? Ridiculous. She had hated Shu long before she even came to appreciate Souta. It shouldn't be less important than him, but…

She folded her arms in front of her with a troubled expression as she continued to ponder this. All while Souta continued to leave. What she didn't know was that the man himself had lost the last shred of his confidence long ago and was holding back his tears as he left, feeling grateful to god that she couldn't see his struggling face.

He was such a loser. He had bet it all on this card and it had turned out to be an utter failure. Of course it would have been, he thought. 'Be brave like Shu, bold like Yahiro…', pah. Screw that! He would always be nothing but Souta…he should have known better. The envoy had been wrong all along. Turned out even he could make mistakes from time to time, eh?

Now he had to go and work for some stupid other branch of Da'ath because of his damn big mouth, and Arisa would attack Shu either way. He was such a damn moron. With his luck, he wouldn't even be around anymore to feel Shu's wrath, since he had heard Da'ath also had a human experimentation facility. What if he ended up getting shoved in there? A pitiful F-rank would definitely end up at a place like this, no? His face became white as salt from fear. He was so dead…

"Wait…" Arisa's voice suddenly made him jump up, which she, fortunately, didn't see since she had to turn around to him first. He stopped walking, but didn't turn around, not wanting to let her see his hopeful expression right now.

"You are so unfair, Souta…" She told him with clenched fists and gritted teeth. "Blackmailing me like this. I would have never thought you would have the nerve or spine to do that to me."

He raised a brow. Blackmail her? With what? Their friendship? Was it that important to her to be used against her like this? He would have never guessed. It was just meant to be a simple choice. Like: 'What do you like more? Pizza or ice cream?', only with their friendship and her revenge instead of the food. Not even in his wildest dreams would he have thought she valued him enough to be seriously conflicted about this.

She was right. He never would have had the spine to blackmail her. He just kind of ended up doing it without even realizing. Now that was a fine mess he had gotten himself into. What was he to say now? Explain himself? Keep the show running? What would be more advantageous for him? How would he know?

" _Think fast, Souta. She is expecting a reply!"_ Is what he thought, and so he came up with:

"Desperate times require desperate measures." Nailed it.

"You think I would make it that easy for you?" The blonde business woman grumbled at him. "You want me to stop going after Ouma, but that isn't going to happen, you hear me?"

"Then why did you stop me?" He finally turned around, somehow managing to forget his insecurities for a second to ask her honestly. He was surprised to see her lose her angry look and show him one of shame instead. She felt so uncomfortable, in fact, that she had to look away and hold her right arm with her left hand awkwardly.

"I lied earlier. Not only to you but to myself as well. I didn't want to admit that I couldn't do this on my own. A Kuhouin is supposed to be strong and confident, but I never was a good Kuhouin. My grandfather tried to teach me how to be one all my life…until I up and killed him. Now there is no one to guide and protect me anymore. I am all by myself. I can't go on like this. It's too much. I need someone to trust, Souta. You are my only friend. Don't leave. Stay with me, please." She begged of him quietly. He almost let his mouth hang open from astonishment. She couldn't have just said that right now, right? He must have been dreaming. Maybe he had fallen unconscious earlier and was now hallucinating. That would be more likely than _this_ actually happening.

"Arisa, there is nothing I would rather do than that, but what about…"

"This…?" She finished his sentence while holding up his mobile with a frown. "There are some things I can't compromise on. Ouma has to pay, but let's say I were to find another way, one that doesn't let everyone else get to harm. Would you accept that?"

Souta looked at her with a shocked expression. "You want me to…"

She narrowed her eyes on him, making sure he understood that she was being serious. "Yes, Souta. Give up on Ouma. Promise me you will stay loyal to me only, and I will swear I will not seek my revenge unless I can find a way to do it without hurting your other friends. That's not too much to ask for, is it?"

He couldn't help but look down as he was forced to ponder this option. Instead of both extremes of Arisa killing everyone or her giving up on revenge, a middle way was presented by her. If he swore to side with Arisa completely, she would spare everyone else and only go after Shu. Naturally, that would mean he would be betraying the latter, but in return, he would be able to stay with Arisa and no one else would die. A troublesome choice. It was better for both of them rather than have nothing, but still…was it the right way?

He saw himself compelled to recall what Shu had told him once, right after he had agreed to become his spy.

" _Staying neutral will eventually stop being an option for you. Sooner or later, you will either have to choose a side or run. When the time comes, I hope you will think carefully and consider all the possible consequences."_

He looked up and saw Arisa's eyes looking back at him. There was hope in them, and a bit of worry. Maybe because she thought he might refuse. She obviously didn't want him to.

Was this what Shu had warned him of? Was this the crucial moment in which he was forced to pick a side or run? He could either accept Arisa's offer and betray Shu, or he could simply turn around and leave, betraying Arisa in the process. Running away wasn't even an option anymore. There was nowhere left to run, nowhere to hide. Tokyo was locked down and Da'ath would find him no matter where he went. Traitors were all killed without exception. So now that neutrality wasn't an option anymore, it all boiled down to whom he wanted to be allied with and whom he wanted to betray…

On one side, you have Shu. His longtime friend who hadn't always been easy to deal with, but had been a good man nonetheless. He had saved his life more than once and together they had experienced some really crazy shit. Stuff that molded men together. Formed an unbreakable bond of comradeship. That same man was now fighting a war against Da'ath and had asked him to help him out as a friend. Souta did not have a reason to deny him that request and so he had agreed.

On the other side, you have Arisa. A friend he had known almost equally as long. She was a woman who had been burdened by her birthright. Born an heir to the rich and powerful Kuhouin group, she had been living all her live under enormous pressure. There had been many things she had had to give up on for the sake of the family name, except for one thing she just couldn't possible have thrown away. That had been her crush on Tsutsugami Gai. And Souta couldn't really blame her for that. Abandoning love when you already had to abandoned pretty much everything else….it must have been too much to ask for from a mere girl at the time. And so, once she had made the choice to follow the man she had loved, she had pretty much been ready to lose everything but him. Friends, family, her wealth…ironically enough, she ended up only keeping the latter in the end. And thus she had become nothing but a lonely rich girl.

When Souta had applied for a job in her company not long after the fourth apocalypse, he had almost expected her to turn him down and send him away. And yet, despite all the odds, even though he was lacking the superb training all the other applicants surely must have had, she had chosen to employ him and keep him around. She had been a strict, but also kind boss. There were many times in which Souta had found some convenient bonus added to his paycheck when , for example, his washing machine had decided to die on him and create a huge water damage in his apartment that would have required him to take an enormous loan from a bank to pay off. All without her even saying a single word about it. When he had planned to thank her the next day at work, she merely continued business as if nothing had happened.

This woman was a member of the same organization Shu was fighting. A woman who had a particular interest to see him dead for supposedly murdering the man she had idolized and adored. She had asked Souta to betray Shu and stand with her. Had admitted that she needed him, that she couldn't do this alone. A conflicting situation.

That was when a crucial detail happened to catch his attention. Shu was his friend, but unlike Arisa, he already had a lot of friends helping him out as it was. Inori, Yahiro, Hare, Ayase, Tsugumi, that Argo fella he barely really knew, Yahiro's brother whose name he didn't even know and potentially even more people he had no idea of. Arisa had…no one. Her money had bought her some mercs but they would all betray her once their greed for money would get overpowered by something else. There was the envoy, of course, but Arisa had also said that he followed his own agenda which might not always align itself with her own goals.

So, wouldn't it be unfair for him to run to Shu who already had plenty of support? If you care about both your friends but only could help one, shouldn't you help the one who needed help most? It's not like either of them were particularly wrong in their beliefs. He could see why Shu would want to fight Da'ath, yet could also understand why Arisa would want Shu to die…assuming he really did kill Gai. He was sort of still on the fence about that detail…

He sighed in defeat after a short while of silence as he made up his mind.

" _Sorry, Shu. I can't keep Arisa hanging. I hope you will understand."_ He thought regretfully, followed by answering her with determination:

"Okay, Arisa. I will side with you."

He thought he noticed a small hopeful gleam in her eyes before she said: "I want you to swear an oath to me. You said you wanted to be a knight, right? They swear oaths."

Souta winced at that. She really wanted to make sure, huh? Well, he already had made up his mind, so…

"Alright. What oath do you want me to abide to?"

"To always be loyal to me only. To stand on my side and protect me and my honor. Will you swear that to me?"

He went down on one knee, looked down and said. "I, Souta Tamadate, swear on my life to always be loyal to you, stand on your side and protect you and your honor."

She offered him a small smile. "You didn't have to kneel, though."

"Oh…" He looked away in embarrassment. "I just thought we would do this the right way and all…"

"Hmmm…" His boss, and supposedly now also his lady, was seen putting a finger on her lips as she thought about something. "You know, you are absolutely right." He watched her leaving the room through a side door in wonder, only to see her return shortly after with a small box in her hands. He made big eyes once she came to a halt in front of him and opened the box with a proud smile.

"If you want to be my knight, you will need a weapon worthy of a knight. Now, we don't really live in the era of swords anymore, even though my grandfather was quite fond of them, so I will give you this." What was then presented to him was a beautifully manufactured and very expensive looking desert eagle. Its hull was highly polished and on the handle, the characters for the Kuhouin family name were engraved rather stylistically. It looked like a family treasure more than anything.

Souta gulped and hesitated to take it.

"What are you waiting for? Take it. It's yours." Arisa urged him kindly.

"I don't really think that's a good idea, Arisa. This looks like it's important to your family and all."

"It probably was my grandfather's. He never used it, though, so I wouldn't know. Well, either way, it's mine now and I can decide who gets to use it. You will. Or do you intend to protect me with your hands only? Don't be ridiculous. A knight needs a weapon."

"But what if I break it? Look, a simple gun would totally be fine for me, so…"

She eyed him with frustration. "Geez, can you just accept this present already? It's yours. If you break it, you break it. A weapon is more use being actually used than just sitting in a room somewhere, collecting dust, anyway."

"A-alright. I will treasure it. Thank you." He eventually gave in and took the gun from her, looking at it from all sides in astonishment, then checking the magazine to see if it was loaded, which it was. He tried to recall the bit of training he had received back in Tennozu during the lockdown incident. Man, that had been ages ago. He hoped he still knew how to properly use one. Well, it would come back in time. If he remembered correctly, his friends had said he wasn't that bad a shot. Ayase had even said he did way better than Shu had. Too bad his skills hadn't been good enough to get him out of the F-rank, huh…

With a bitter expression he put the gun away behind him, deciding to not go any further down on memory lane. Instead, he allowed a more pleasant idea to cross his mind. Excitedly and with a huge grin he asked:

"Hey, does this mean I am _Sir_ Souta Tamadate now?" When he saw Arisa almost burst out into laughter, barely able to contain it by putting her hand over her mouth, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes on her in displeasure. "And what the hell's so funny?"

"So sorry, I did not expect that, but no…we aren't doing that." His boss replied in between small giggles, still struggling with holding back her laughter.

"I thought we were doing this the right way."

"Souta, there is _no way_ I am calling you 'Sir Souta'. Nuh-uh." She told him with folded arms, still grinning.

"Why not?"

"It's embarrassing. Would you like to call me 'Lady Arisa' all the time?"

"I would if you called me Sir."

"No, Souta. That isn't going to happen." She told him off with a tired sigh, followed by taking out his phone from her pocket and looked at it with a pained expression. The GPS coordinates flashed up again with the yellow point in the map blinking at her hypnotically. It would be so easy to anonymously send this data to the SDF…it would require just some mere pressing of a few buttons. A simple action that would bring justice to Ouma Shu and his followers at last. She suddenly felt a hand being put on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Souta's black eyes looking back at her, offering her nothing but sympathy. His other hand was held openly before her, awaiting the return of the device.

Her gaze went back to the holo screen where she pressed a few buttons on it. A window asking her if she really wanted to delete the data awaited her confirmation and while she was biting on her lower lip in discomfort, she eventually pressed "Yes" and handed the mobile back to its rightful owner.

"Thank you, Arisa. I know it wasn't easy doing that." He told her gently as he put the phone into his pants' pocket.

"It wouldn't have been worth it…another opportunity will surely arise." She told him, sounding tired.

He could only nod understandingly. This was what he had signed up for, so there was no use regretting it now. "Do you have any plans in mind?"

She shook her head slowly. "Not yet. We'll have to see what we can do from now on. Well, at least I will not have to do it on my own, right?"

"No…" He offered her a weak smile. "No, you won't."

Before their conversation could continue in any way, a voice coming out of the terminal at Arisa's desk caught their attention. The screen on the holo-display only stated the identity of the woman speaking as well it being a mere "voice only" transmission.

"Uh, Miss Kuhouin, sorry to disturb you this late, but it appears you have visitors." They heard her say, probably the guard on duty that was supposed to be watching the gate. Arisa could only lift a brow at that and head back to her desk, pressing a button so that her voice could be heard on the other end.

"Visitors? Who?" She wanted to know.

"It's the envoy of Da'ath, Miss. Should we let him in?"

The blonde woman threw a confused look at Souta, making it obvious that she had no idea what this was all about. It was as if she was silently asking him if he had heard of this, but he could only answer her with a clueless shrug.

"Let him in." She eventually told the guard, to which she got a positive response in return, followed by the line being terminated.

"Huh, I wonder what he wants." Souta said as he walked up to Arisa's side.

"I guess we are about to find out." She mumbled, slightly worried, and took a seat at her desk. Souta remained standing next to her, hands held behind his back. Not long after, there was a knock at the double doors in front of them and the head of the house responded to it by allowing them to enter.

When the doors opened, in came the envoy. And not only him, but everyone who was with him. Inori and Harune were behind him with Nanba and his gang surrounding them together with their remaining underlings. The twins were carried by the wind controller and the football guy. In the end, a whole group of twelve people stood in front of them, ten if you didn't count the still sleeping twins.

Sudou was heard whistling in an impressed fashion as he entered the room, looking all around him in awe. "Woa, this place is loaded. I wouldn't mind living here, eh Nanba?"

Said man only grinned at that. "Well, we would have to evict the current owner first…"

"Hardly a problem, right?" Ritsu said in a rather bored voice, letting her head lean against her arms she had put behind her head while looking around.

"Are these guys always this rude, Yuu?" Harune whispered with narrowed eyes, clearly being bothered by their behavior. The envoy shrugged at that.

"I'll admit that etiquette isn't their strong point, but that's not what I brought them for anyway. That being said,…" The blond man in white rolled his eyes and turned to Nanba. "Will you _please_ shut up when we are in company of other people? Is that so much to ask for?"

Nanba was then seen eying everyone else sternly and, getting the message, they all became quiet afterwards. Yuu nodded at that and cleared his throat, directing his next words at Arisa while spreading his arms and smiling broadly as he walked forward.

"Thank you very much for receiving us, Miss Kuhouin. I am terribly sorry about intruding on you so late, as well as these guys' rude behavior, but you know how these former Mananites are, right? I suppose they will need some time to remember how to act like civilized people." He sent a meaningful glare Nanba's way who chose to ignore it.

"They didn't know in the first place, so what is there to remember…?" Inori was heard mumbling to herself disapprovingly, earning some displeased growling from the people in question in return.

Arisa and Souta for their part couldn't help but eye the unexpected visitors with shocked expressions, followed by gritting their teeth and clenching their fists as their looks turned angry. Arisa's fingernails dug into the desk's wood from how furious she became.

"These bastards…I see…so they must have survived the process of evolution…? They of all people…" Souta grumbled in slight disbelief. Nanba couldn't help but grin at him.

"I see you recovered well from the last time we met. Thanks for the clothes, by the way. The girls like them very much." When he made a gesture to direct Souta's attention to Ritsu and MIyabi, the girls in question who still wore the stolen scarf and coat weren't too shy to present the goods to him proudly.

"Those are Arisa's…how did you…?" He asked them in utter bafflement to which Sudou broke out into a laughing fit.

"Oi, oi. Did that idiot really forget? We might have hit him a bit too hard last time."

"Last time…? You never hit me as far as I know…" Was Souta's confused response to that.

"No way, he really forgot. Maybe we should break a few rips again to make him remember?" Miyabi suggested while readjusting her glasses.

"Good idea!" Sudou eagerly said and was about to unleash his void with his right hand when he felt crystal vines wrapping themselves around his limps, immobilizing him. Throwing an angry glare Inori's way, he was not surprised to see her glare at him threateningly.

"If you want _your_ ribs intact, you will be advised to keep your hands off that man." Was all she said to him, causing him to gulp nervously.

"Y-you are bluffing. You can't harm us. The envoy-" He wanted to throw something back at her, only to have Yuu cut in on his sentence.

"Fully supports Eve's statement. We are guests here, you fool. Would it kill you to show some respect just _once_ in your life?" He went over to his side and smacked the back of his head angrily, followed by shaking his own one in disappointment.

This was the moment Arisa finally had enough. Getting up and leaning forward on her desk, she furiously asked:

"What is the meaning of this, Yuu? Why did you bring this vermin into my house!" Souta could only nod in agreement at that while the envoy sighed.

"Great, you guys apparently share a not-so-bright past with each other. Sure would have helped to have heard of this _beforehand_." He said with a forced smile and eyed Nanba sharply at the end of his second sentence.

"To be fair, you never asked and you usually seem to be very well informed, so I assumed you already knew." Nanba merely said to his defense to which the envoy could only frown in annoyance.

"I am the envoy of Da'ath, not the all-seeing eye of the freemasons, you dimwit. I prefer to be showered in information I already have than being forced to walk around as ignorantly as you do!" He told him with a deep and heavy sigh while putting his hand on his face and shaking his head once more in disbelief. These guys, seriously.

"I am still waiting for an explanation, Yuu…" Arisa reminded him impatiently.

"Right, sorry. It's been a long day for all of us. Anyway, these fools behind me and I went out today to find Adam and Eve and bring them to Da'ath so that we can finally prepare things for the fifth apocalypse. As you might see, we partially succeeded as well as partially failed." The blond man explained and gestured with his hand into Inori's direction, who only glared back at him angrily. He chose to ignore her and continue his explanation.

"It turned out that they both, while not entirely unwilling to bring the apocalypse, shared no intention to work together with Da'ath, which bode to be quite the problem. I was forced to merely take Eve with me while leaving Adam behind."

Souta couldn't help but look rather dumbfounded once he heard him say that. So that's why there was no response from Shu. He had had too much trouble with Da'ath…Souta's warning must have come too late. Poor guy…but it wasn't exactly like he could still help him at this point. Not anymore…

He threw a troubled look into Arisa's direction, who in the meantime had asked: "I see…, I assume you used the meteorite to keep Eve in check, but why leave Adam alone? Shouldn't you have captured him as well?"

The envoy only shrugged in response. "That would have hardly made a difference. Adam would not bend to our will that easily, even if we made him our prisoner. Men like him with strong willpower first need to be broken apart and then put together anew to do our bidding. I have a different plan for that."

"I won't let you hurt Shu!" Inori said with nothing but hatred, but only got waved off tiredly by the envoy.

"Yes, yes, Eve. Unfortunately, you won't get a say in this. But don't worry. It all sounds far worse than it will be. Of course I won't be killing him off or anything. That would only cause me more work than it would help."

Arisa would beg to disagree, but of course she wouldn't say anything out aloud. She knew that the envoy wouldn't share her opinion, so instead she chose to ask:

"And why did you bring her here? And more importantly, them?" She pointed at Nanba and his thuggish followers.

"Happy to see you, too, love." Nanba merely replied with folded arms and an evil grin, causing Arisa to nearly gag from disgust.

The envoy continued to speak. "A slight miscalculation on my part, I am afraid. We were supposed to use the twins for transportation, but it turned out that I was asking for too much of them. They are still young and so they ended up getting completely exhausted halfway through the operation. Quite a lot of people had to be teleported, after all." He threw a short glance over at them and smiled somewhat apologetically, even though they couldn't see that due to their sleeping state. He then eyed Arisa again to finish the explanation.

"That being said, we couldn't return to Tennozu like this and were forced to find a place to stay the night. Since your place was in the area, I had hoped you could allow us to stay here over night. It would be highly appreciated."

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" The head of the house asked him with eyebrows trembling from anger. "If it was only you and those twins, I would have had no objections. I am even fine with Inori and whoever that random girl next to her is, but you bring in this _filth_ of a man and his retarded companions and _expect_ me to welcome you? Are you out of your mind, Yuu?"

While the envoy looked troubled at her reaction, Nanba only put up his smug face and said: "Come on, hon. We both know you want it. Why don't you and me get to your room and I show you some of the moves I have learned since the last time we have shared each other's warmth?" He chuckled evilly, causing her hair to stand on end and her instinctively taking a step back out of alarm. Luckily, Souta stepped in front of her, took out the gun he had received earlier, pulled back the slide on it to load up the first bullet in the magazine and aimed its harmful end at the man in front of him threateningly. Yep, he still knew how it's done. What a relief.

"What was that, scum? Care to repeat that for me?" Arisa wasn't the only one who obviously couldn't stand to see Nanba's ugly face any longer. She allowed herself to calm down slightly now that she wasn't facing the brunette man directly anymore.

"Hoh, what's this? Does the doggy want to play? You better put that thing down before you get hurt, boy." He said, totally unimpressed, as he grinned at him mischievously.

"Oh, I can put it down, alright." Souta said angrily and aimed the gun slightly lower so that it was now aiming at the spot right between the brunette's legs. "That work for you?"

Nanba visibly frowned for a sec, but then merely laughed confidently as he raised both arms to his sides provokingly. "What's that supposed to do? Think I would be scared of a mere F rank? I could snap your neck like as if it was a twig."

"Last time I checked, Genesis, while being superior to everything compared to a normal human being, were still unable to outrun a bullet. Let's see how you are gonna show anyone 'those moves' of yours after you got a load of this." Souta said confidently while cocking back the hammer of the gun. He may have been troubled with shooting Shu who had been his friend. But this asshole? Heh, he would be all game. He really hated his guts.

Losing his cool act, Nanba was now seeing growling at him in return, narrowing his eyes in hatred.

"You pull that trigger and you are a dead man, you hear me?"

An evil smirk formed itself on Souta's lips right then and there. "Well, at least one of us would still be a man, then."

He could hear Arisa trying very hard to hold back a mischievous laugh by pressing her mouth shut with her left hand and turning away. Harune couldn't help but snicker at that one as well, feeling like the rude man in front of her had well deserved that one. Even Yuu gave himself mildly impressed at that remark, given how both corners of his mouth traveled slightly down in an extensive frown, clearly thinking: "Not bad."

"Oh, you guys think that's funny?" Nanba asked the crowd as he turned around angrily. He was undoubtedly about to say something snarky next, but Yuu didn't let him get to that. The blond man merely walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar with a slightly annoyed expression present on his face.

"Yeah, I do, in fact…because Mr. Tamadate and I seem to share the same thoughts on this. I have grown so tired of your attitude right now that I am afraid that if _he_ won't shoot off your primary sexual characteristics, _I_ certainly will. How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet? Is your brain incapable of understanding that simple command?"

"But…" Nanba tried to object only to get silenced by the envoy who slapped him with the back of his hand.

"No, I have had enough of you. Take your friends and get out of this mansion this instant before you cause more trouble for me and everyone else. Leave the twins here and return to Tennozu yourselves. I don't care how. Get that brain of yours to work for once. When I return, I will give you one or two lessons about obedience and general rules of behavior. Understood?"

Nanba was seen growling at the envoy and seeing how badly he was treated, his friends naturally decided to stand up for him. They broke the formation and took a stand at his side, glaring down at the envoy angrily.

"What do you think you are doing to Nanba, huh?" Ritsu spat at him and pointed her right index finger at the envoy in a disrespectful manner.

"Yeah, man. That's seriously going too far. We won't accept this." Sudou agreed after having taken a defensive position in front of his friend.

Miyabi was merely seen shaking her head, followed by glaring daggers at the envoy. "Unforgivable."

Their underlings assumed their positions behind their leaders.

A sinister grin appeared on Yuu's face right then and there, giving himself not impressed at all.

"Well, would you look at that. The band of clowns has come together to entertain the king. What will you fools do, huh? Juggle some balls? Breathe some fire? Oh, sorry, I forgot that the fire-eater recently departed your pitiful circus. Sorry for your loss." He said while eying Ritsu with ridicule. Something that made her bare her teeth at him. But before she could strike out, Nanba's hand found its way on her shoulder, pulling her back gently.

"Don't." He merely said, without looking away from the envoy. His expression was a mixture of anger and worry. He didn't like getting told off like that, but he knew that the envoy was powerful. Lashing out like that would kill his friends and only weaken their position. It served no tactical advantage whatsoever. If he wasn't careful, he would end up just like Tsutsugami Gai had predicted. He wouldn't let that happen. He was better than Gai and he would show it to everyone.

The envoy nodded approvingly. "It seems you do understand your position, Nanba. Good. Perhaps I wasn't wrong about you, after all. Now go, and teach those underlings of yours some discipline. Remember that just how Da'ath rewards obedience generously, it also punishes disobedience just as much."

"I will see to it, sir." Nanba agreed reluctantly and bowed slightly with a bitter expression. His friends eyed him with surprise as they saw him do that. He didn't react to their looks and merely said: "Come on, let's go."

"Wait, Nanba! We are just leaving like this? You can't be serious!" Sudou yelled disapprovingly and attempted to grab his friend by the shoulder, only to hesitate when he saw the glasses-wearing man throw back a dark glare at him over his shoulder.

"I said: _Let's go._ We will talk about this later."

"But, Nanba…"

Yuu rolled his eyes at them and happened to see Arisa's and Souta's impatient expressions as they eyed their hated ex-classmates. Deciding to hurry things up a bit to make things easier for all of them, he casually turned towards Inori and said:

"Eve, if these fools are still inside this room after ten seconds have passed, I will allow you to do whatever you want to them." With a shrug he added: "Comrade Harune, you will serve as the timer. Start to count, now."

While said girl nodded obediently, Inori was seen looking at the envoy, followed by narrowing her eyes as she turned her attention towards Nanba and his gang. Finally and order she could get behind on.

"One." Harune began to count, causing everyone under Nanba's command to look at each other with panic, unsure what to do.

"Two." She continued to count. Nanba pushed his followers towards the door and yelled: "Move!"

"Three." Everyone was then seen running forward in quite a haste. Inori, who was still standing near the door, had a playful gleam appear in her eyes. Without moving a muscle, she let a couple of man-high crystal pillars appear in the room, serving as obstacles. Each one of them had smaller branches growing sideways out of them at various heights. As the group of former Mananites rushed forward, some got pushed against the pillars, crashing into them headfirst. Others tried to pass them by, but got hit by the branches when the boulders started rotating randomly with a mere mental command of the queen, who just had to look at them and think about it.

Ritsu as the most agile of the group, managed to avoid most of the traps and was the first to reach the door, but Inori, feeling slightly mischievous, decided to move her foot slightly towards her. The brunette tomboy was so focused on reaching the door that she totally oversaw the queen's childish prank, causing her to trip and stumble forward, crashing into the wall of the hallway right outside the room. She was seen sliding down the wall, followed by sitting down and holding her bleeding nose. When she glared hatefully at Inori, said pinkette merely feigned innocence by looking in the opposite direction and folding her hands behind her back.

Several of their underlings followed suit, most of them having received quite a beating by the pillars, so Inori merely let them pass. They weren't her center of attention anyway. Sudou was next in line, rushing through the obstacle course with sheer muscle strength and willpower alone. He crashed through some pillars by tackling them head on, making them crumble apart. It looked like it hurt to do that, especially since Inori had made the boulders quite durable, but she supposed it was a better alternative for him than getting hit by them all the time. As he was about to reach the goal proudly, Inori let a crystal vine grow behind the opened door and, as soon as Sudou was about to leave the room, let the vine push the door close with quite some force.

The piercings-wearing man only had the chance to open his eyes wide in surprise when he saw the sudden obstacle in his path, but had no means to react in time to avoid it.

"Oh shi-!" With full speed, he just crashed into it. "Guh!"

His momentum forced him to bounce back from it, and so he fell to the ground like a felled tree where he remained to lie, looking quite dazed. The queen squatted next to him and let her head rest on both her hands innocently as she looked down on him.

"She's still counting, you know?" She reminded him and threw a short glance over at Harune.

"Y-you damn bitch…" He groaned at her as he tried to get up.

"Five." Everyone heard Harune say. Half-time.

Miyabi came running up to him, having followed the path he had created for her before Inori had mentally reshaped the pillars. Smart girl, Inori realized. She came to a halt next to Sudou and took both of his Legs in order to pull him out of the room with her. To annoy her, Inori let crystalline roots wrap themselves around the fallen man's wrists, preventing her from advancing.

"Damnit, let go!" The queen heard the dark haired woman growl at her as she put her back into it, trying to pull Sudou out with her Genesis' strength. The man in question cried in pain, since he felt as if he was effectively pulled apart into two opposite directions.

"Okay." Eve agreed to her demand and let the roots shatter apart with a mere wave of the hand. With the sudden resistance gone, Miyabi saw herself suddenly pulling too hard. She fell back, still holding on to Sudou, who crashed right into her as soon as she had fallen on her behind. Luckily for them, though, they managed to roll out of the room in time, though not without having received some serious pain.

The last of the group was Nanba, who had lacked behind, because Inori had made it especially difficult for him. Right at the start, she had one of the branches of the first pillar he had passed hit him right between the legs, making him bend over in immense pain. There, another tree-like obstacle had hit him at the back of his head, causing him to curse as he fell over. Once he lied on the ground, he decided to crawl forward to avoid the fast spinning branches, but was soon to realize that the pillars started to fall on him once he had managed to pass them. He had to roll sideways to avoid getting pinned down under one of them and saw himself forced to get up and run if he still wanted to make it in time. With some serious determination and a loud battle cry, he stormed forward, trying to shield himself from the painful attacks by putting up his hands like a boxer. By the time Harune had reached the number five, he had been barely behind Miyabi as he charged forward.

He eventually passed Inori, who didn't even look at him, but when he was about to reach for the goal, he was forced to see that he couldn't reach it. Coming right to a halt right in front of it, he looked down on his right leg where he noticed some kind of resistance, only to witness a crystal shackle having wrapped itself around his ankle, preventing him from going further no matter how strong he pulled.

"Where do you think you are going?" Nanba's blood froze solid in his veins when he heard Inori's sudden change in tone. Gone was all the playfulness and what had been fun and games so far, suddenly became the merciless reality again. Such was obvious once he saw the threatening look in her eyes as she turned towards him.

"What's the meaning of this, Inori?" He growled at her angrily, still trying to get free.

"Six." They heard Harune count.

The queen narrowed her eye son him coldly. "Did you think I have forgotten what you did to Shu earlier?" She lifted her hand and with a snip of her fingers, all pillars shattered apart into many sharp, dagger-like shards that began floating in the air, directing the pointy end at the trapped man. "You are going nowhere."

Yuu and the rest had watched the show with amusement so far, only to get surprised by the sudden turn of events. The envoy watched with interest, while Harune began eying the scene worriedly. Souta's grin formed into a shocked expression while Arisa, who had found her way back into the seat of her chair, formed a bridge with her hands on the desk in front of her to lean her head against it. With contempt for the man at the queen's mercy, she narrowed her eyes and smirked in anticipation. She may not have known what this was all about but she sure as hell wouldn't intervene in what she thought was justice. If someone deserved to be mutilated by Eve, Nanba surely fit the description.

The cruel former A-rank couldn't help but worriedly eye the dangerous projectiles aimed at him. "For someone who had boasted about being a kind queen, you sure as hell are sending out some Mana-esque waves right now." He argued with a growl.

Inori looked down, letting her hair obstruct her eyes. "During the last two days I've been treated like dirt, betrayed, almost executed, hunted down, beaten up, separated from Shu and eventually enslaved. Do you _seriously_ believe that at this point, I would still show kindness to my enemies?" Her eyes began glowing red, making them visible again under the strands of hair once she slowly looked up again.

"No…not with you. The only language you speak is violence, and so violence I will use to get my point across." She looked over to Yuu and Arisa to make sure they understood what she meant. This man would merely serve as an example to what horrors she would unleash on them if anyone dared to hurt Shu again. This was nothing she would compromise on. And even those meteorite rings would not stop her from exacting revenge for her king, should he come to harm.

Souta gulped and even Arisa had to admit that her heart skipped a beat from fear. The envoy still wore his poker face, so it was impossible to tell how he thought about this.

"Eight…" Harune continued to count, now visibly nervous and hesitant to continue. She threw a worried look over to the envoy in hope he would do something, but he didn't. All they could see him do was put a hand under his chin and smirk, murmuring something that sounded like: "Interesting…"

Meanwhile, Nanba was still busy trying to get loose. He summoned his void and started beating on the crystal, but every time cracks appeared on it, it began reconstructing itself again. Inori wasn't letting him go. Desperately, he looked over to Yuu.

"Yuu, for fuck's sake, do something!" He yelled at him, but the envoy continued to merely stand there, smirking.

"Nine…?" Harune still counted, gulping audibly.

"YUU!" Nanba yelled panickedly after seeing the merciless look in Inori's eyes as she lifted her hands, preparing to send the deadly shards at him. The brunette man's friends stood at the edge of the room, careful to have their feet still beyond the line that separated the study from the hallway. They all grabbed his hands and attempted to pull him out of the room with all their might. To no avail.

Finally, the envoy sighed with closed eyes and a shrug, giving up. "Let him go, Eve. It's no fun if you don't even give him a chance, you know?"

Inori eyed him disapprovingly from the corner of her eyes but saw herself forced to obey. Her hand moved on its own as it set him free. The crystal shackles at his foot began crumbling away.

"Nine-and-a-half…?" Haruna apparently chickened out on them, much to Inori and Arisa's annoyance. The blond haired business woman stood up in anticipation and yelled:

"Ten!"

Inori moved without hesitation, bringing her raised hands down and thus getting the shards into motion. Everything after that happened too fast to clearly see it. Ritsu, Sudou and Miyabi pulled Nanba as strongly as they could while the deadly shards came rushing towards them like bullets of a mini gun, flying so fast that you merely heard a quiet sound and felt a small breeze once they passed you. If you were lucky enough to have them merely pass you, that was.

But Nanba was lucky, just as he was about to get turned into a pincushion for Inori's crystals, he managed to get dragged out of the room just in time to see the deadly objects cross the line between study and hallway and burst apart into nothing but small crumbles of what they used to be. Harmless debris of the size of not even hailstones. And not even those were allowed to leave the study. They remained lying neatly at the line between rooms as if held there by an invisible force field.

Nanba and the gang wheezed heavily as they tried to catch their breath, hearts racing after all this excitement. Nanba himself couldn't exactly believe that he was still alive. He felt up his body and let a heavy, relieved sigh escape his lips as he shook his head and looked down exhaustedly. He was unharmed.

"Nanba…your leg…" Ritsu said with a worried voice, causing him to pay closer attention to his legs. His eyes widened wide when he saw a huge shard being stuck in there so deep that it actually pierced his leg completely. The shard's pointy end looked out at the opposite side of the entry wound. His jaw started to tremble as his face turned into a grimace of disbelief and horror. Some sounds were uttered by him as if he was trying to form words, but only stuttered noises were to be heard before the pain eventually kicked in at last and made him scream in agony with his hands unsure what to do with the bleeding mess stuck in his leg.

"Remember this pain, Nanba." They all suddenly heard Inori's voice. She kept standing on the other side of the line where she blew away the remainder of what used to be her daggers with a mere wave of her hand, causing it to turn into dust and fly away like snow in the wind. Her eyes lost the red glow, yet not the coldness in them.

"I know you well. More than you might have thought I did. I know how you think, how you operate. It's not that hard to understand." She told him calmly with the air of superiority around her. The aura of Eve. "You like working for people who have power. It's the only thing you respect and desire. Your whole existence revolves around it. Your hunger for it causes you to do many abominable things. It's not difficult to imagine that one day, you will seek to hold the power of kings for yourself, and that you would likely go after Shu to get it. My absence might be but one of the reasons to fuel your motivation. When that desire manifests inside your heart, I want you to remember me. Remember the fear you just felt and the pain you are in now. Then I want you to realize that it was but a fraction of what you will feel if you harm him again. You were afraid of Mana, so better be afraid of the one who succeeded her as well."

With that she closed her eyes and turned around without another word. The doors to the study closed, leaving the former Mananites to themselves in the hallway. Every one of them was speechless, robbed of every possible syllable they could have wanted to utter. Inori had spoken and she had chosen the language they understood best. And it had worked well. Even Nanba, the leader of the pack, the alpha male, saw how much his hands shook from fear. Yes, he had to admit it. He was afraid. Afraid of Inori of all things. Such power…it was supposed to be like Mana's but unlike Mana, Inori was not afraid to actually use it…dirty her hands with blood.

A sinister grin appeared on his lips right then and there, followed by him chuckling evilly. By the time his friends had turned towards him in wonder, he had already begun laughing in a way that made him seem crazy. What was there to laugh about, they asked themselves. Had Nanba finally lost it?

But they didn't know what was going through his head right now, what dark thoughts the synapses of his brain were currently forming. Da'ath's power had been superb, but what if he could make Eve's power his? He would be a god! Untouchable!

But then he stopped these thoughts from continuing down that path, realizing that acquiring said power was not easy at all. He needed a plan. And he needed a good one. To outwit both, Eve as well as Yuu…it would not be easy. He couldn't allow himself to get hasty. All good things needed time. And besides, he couldn't exactly think straight with the pain in his leg. First things first: He needed a doc. Preferably someone else but the wraith of time, or else he might forget his idea again. That wouldn't do.

"Uh, bro, are you alright?" Sudou asked worriedly as he tried to help his friend up by lending him his shoulder. Ritsu held him by the other one. Their leader grunted slightly as he got up, but grinned again soon afterwards.

"Not quite, but I will be soon. Let's go find a medic or something, then I will tell you what we are going to do from now on."

The other shared surprised looks with each other before they, too, began grinning. Miyabi was the first to ask, excitedly: "You have a plan?"

"I do, though it still needs work. We will have to be patient for now, wait for our chance. But let's not discuss this here. Let's return to Loop Seven."

"Leave it to me. I know the best way back." The black haired woman of the group said with pride, earning her a pleased nod from her boss.

"Good girl. I knew I could count on you. Lead the way."

And with that, Team Nanba moved out, forming plans as dark as the night they vanished into.

-GC-

Yuu applauded strongly for Inori after she had closed the door behind her.

"Marvelous display of authority, Eve. You performed truly well, if I dare say so myself." He commended her.

"Yeah, Inori! You were so cool!" Souta agreed with a raised fist. "These scumbags totally deserved that!"

"Hmph, not too bad, indeed." Even Arisa gave herself impressed. She would have to lie if she were to say she didn't enjoy the lesson the queen had taught them.

"What's wrong with you people…?" Harune couldn't help but shake her head at them, utterly in disbelief. "She was about to kill him. I know he is an ass, but really…"

Souta folded his arms in front of him and looked away. "He would have deserved it…"

Arisa frowned and nodded in agreement. "He would have deserved even worse."

"No one would have missed him." Was all Inori had to say to that.

Yuu didn't say anything. All he did was shrug, as if saying: "Meh."

"You guys are unbelievable…" Harune couldn't help but sigh. "Seriously, even Yuu…"

"You just don't know the man, that's all. The things he had done to me…" Arisa said with a dark expression.

"And everyone else in Tennozu…" Souta added angrily.

"Or to my people in the void realm…not to mention Shu." The queen threw in with clenched fists.

"Well, he has a certain propensity for cruelty and torture, I will have to admit." Yuu said as he began leaning back in midair, levitating. Not that men like that didn't have their uses from time to time, though.

"Wow, that bad, huh." The former shop clerk was rather taken aback because of the feedback. That was the moment they heard him laugh loudly on the other side of the door, making them all turn towards the direction of the sound with mixed feelings. Some, like Arisa and Inori, were simply disgusted while Yuu gave himself intrigued. Souta and Harune, for their part, got the chills.

Just what kind of man was this Hirohide Nanba? It started to look like Harune wasn't going look forward running into him at night. Or ever, really.

Arisa pressed the button for her com link again and said: "Whoever is closest to my study, there are a bunch of idiots loitering in front of it. I want you to take these morons and kick them out. Tell them that they will get shot on sight if they ever return here. Then remember their faces and actually do so if you ever see them again."

"Yes, Ma'am. On our way."

"Thank you very much." Arisa said and ended the conversation right afterwards with a tired sigh. "Well, with that out of the way, I suppose you want some rooms to spend the night in…?" She asked, mainly the envoy, with hands folded together on her desk.

"Yes, it would be best if we could get two rooms. One for me and one for the ladies." The envoy said, suddenly stopping to levitate and assuming a proper posture, as expected of someone who asked of a favor.

"Not sleeping with any of you…" Inori objected calmly, making Yuu look at her in disdain. A silent conversation followed them, held by only the look on their faces.

Yuu's face: "That's not up to debate."

Inori's face: "Oh, yes, it is."

"Sleeping with other females in one room is hardly asking for too much…"

"We could do this the easy way, or the hard way."

The envoy frowned at her, followed by turning around to Arisa with a deep sigh. "Three rooms, if you please."

The head of the house was seen narrowing her eyes on this kind of display. "What's this, Yuu? Are you giving in on her? Why not simply force her to take the room?"

This caused the pink haired queen to smirk knowingly. "It's not that easy, is it, Yuu?"

"Of course not…it never is with you Eves…" The envoy groaned in frustration and focused his attention back to the blonde in front of him. "Look, can we please just go to sleep for now? I will gladly explain tomorrow if you want to know."

She lifted a brow on him, but eventually decided to give into him for now. After she had seen Souta yawn from the corner of her eyes, she herself had had the urge to yawn as well. It was getting really hard to resist, probably not least because of the fact that it _was_ getting late and she _did_ feel tired as well. Maybe it really was time to call it a day.

"Very well. I was planning to go to sleep anyway. Souta, if you would kindly find our guests some rooms…and get the princess her extra room, like she insisted…" That last bit was added with quite some scorn, which Arisa didn't even try to hide. Inori did not reply, only threw a meaningful glare her way.

As if to defuse the situation before it could further escalate, Souta tensed up and eagerly said: "Will do." He then opened the door for them and asked everyone to follow him as he led the way.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality, Miss Kuhouin." The envoy politely said to Arisa and was the first to go right afterwards, pointing his finger at the twins and making a small gesture as if to signal someone to lift something up. The sleeping girls immediately began floating in the air and followed him as he left the room, not even getting the slightest bit bothered by it in their sleep. Inori reluctantly trailed off behind him without saying a further word with Harune right at her tail, offering Arisa a short bow in gratitude before she left and closed the door behind her.

The way to their room was quiet for a short while before the envoy decided to speak up.

"It appears you have grown somewhat closer to Miss Kuhouin, Mr. Tamedate." He said with an approving nod.

"You can tell?" Souta asked him excitedly.

"Yes. The way you protected her just now and how relieved she was that you did, were clear indicators that something must have happened. She depends on you now, doesn't she?"

"I guess she does, huh. It's a nice feeling, to be honest, though I still think I have a long way to go." The dark haired man admitted awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"Do you love her?" They heard Inori suddenly butt in on their conversation, causing Souta to slightly blush.

"I do, actually." He admitted with a sheepish laugh. "You must think I am weird."

But the queen merely shook her head with a small smile. "It's not weird. It's nice. I hope she will notice soon. She might become a better person once she actually experiences actual love instead of constantly chasing after false one."

"I agree." Yuu nodded at her words with closed eyes and a smile. "Her pointless obsession over Tsutsugami Gai was painful to watch and contra-productive for everyone involved with her, including herself. Only the best would come out of you being successful, so work hard, Mr. Tamedate."

"Wow, guys. Thanks for believing in me. Leave it to me!" The man in slightly wrinkled office-attire turned halfway around towards them and gave them a thumbs-up that was accompanied by his brightest smile.

"Anyway, you guys are really lucky to be able to sleep in one of the beds in this house. Man, you would not believe how comfy they are." He told them in high spirits as they reached the first room. "This one's a rather small one, but the windows face the west, meaning the sun won't bother you in the morning."

"It's the smallest room?" The envoy inquired to which he got a confirming nod from Souta. "Then I guess that's mine. Could you…?" He gestured for the black haired man to take one of the twins from him, since he obviously won't be able to carry them to their room anymore if his journey ended here. The young man only nodded understandingly and gently took one of them into his care. Yuu then took the other one and placed her into Harune's already expecting hands.

While handing the young girl over, he leaned over to whisper in her ear:

"What's the status on Mr. Tamadate? Can he be trusted?"

"He isn't necessarily loyal to Da'ath, but more so to Miss Kuhouin." She explained to him in a quiet voice, causing the envoy to grin.

"That's fine for now. As long as he doesn't plan to align himself with Adam."

"No, sir. His latest thoughts suggest no such notions." She reassured him with a kind smile.

"Thank you, comrade Harune. You saved me a lot of work I would have had otherwise looking into him. You can put your void away now. You must be tired from using it all day." He told her understandingly, to which she offered him a thankful nod and put her right hand up to her eyes, removing something that looked like contact lenses. Instead of putting them away, however, she merely dropped them, causing them to dissolve into silver threads midair which vanished into a glowing hole on her chest soon afterwards.

"Whoa. You were using a void this whole time?" Souta didn't even try to hide his astonishment, asking her that with mouth slightly agape. He hadn't noticed at all.

"Yep. Pretty awesome, right?" She told him with a proud grin.

"Contacts, huh…" Inori couldn't help but frown at her in suspicion. "What do they do?"

"Se-cret." She winked at her playfully which made the queen frown even more in distrust. She didn't press the issue, however, knowing that she wouldn't get the information anyway. She was well aware of her position as a captive. They wouldn't tell her everything, so she had to remain vigilant about her surroundings and find out herself.

The envoy chose to use the opportunity to excuse himself for the night

with a polite bow.

"I will take my leave now, ladies, Mr. Tamedate. Have a good night and see you all tomorrow."

"Good night." Souta and Harune said as they returned the envoy's gesture. Inori treated the man with indifference and decided to move on

"Wow, she must really hate you, huh." Souta couldn't help but say with pity as he looked after her. "She wasn't like this five years ago."

Yuu only shook his head and chuckled amusedly. "Of course she hates me. I put that ring on her, after all. She doesn't realize that it was actually Adam's doing that made me do it, though. It's easier to hate the envoy of an organization trying to support her than it is hating your chosen Adam, naturally. She and her foolish Adam were both too stubborn to even hear me out. And now we are forced to do things _this_ way." He sighed tiredly and folded his arms in front of him.

"They know so little and understand nothing, yet if you try to educate them, all you get in return is scorn. Sometimes it makes me worry about the future, with them being the future king and queen of the world, but then again, doesn't it make things interesting? Doesn't it make you want to see what kind of world they would bring?" He threw his questions into the room while they were all looking into the direction Inori vanished. Harune and Souta couldn't help but nod silently.

"Yeah. Arisa thinks it would be a catastrophe, but I can't help but think they would do a good job. Shu and Inori are good people, I am sure they would make a good king and queen." The dark haired man admitted with a small smile.

"I don't know about Inori, having only officially met her today, but Shu would be a good leader for sure. And if Inori is whom he wants to have at his side, I will trust his judgment. Now if only he would agree to actually join us…" Yuu could hear Harune mumble the last bit in a rather depressing manner.

"Don't worry. I will see to it that it works out in the end. Now, if you would excuse me. I will head straight to bed. You two should probably catch up with Eve and see that she gets a room. I have forbidden her to leave the mansion or use crystals for the time being, so there should be no risk of her running away, but knowing her, she will probably seek every chance she gets to cause me trouble. The less reason she has to be discontent, the better."

"No worries, Yuu. I would have given her the best room anyway. She's a friend, after all." Souta merely replied with a grin.

"Good to hear. See you guys tomorrow." And with that, the envoy finally took his leave, waving them good-bye and closing the door behind him.

Following that, Souta and Harune, now both carrying one of the twins, began walking after Inori, who had gone ahead quite a bit. Eventually they spotted her looking at a painted picture on a wall. Finding their places next to her, both of them allowed themselves to follow her gaze only to realize that she was looking at a picture of Adam and Eve, the biblical ones, getting tempted by a snake to eat an apple.

Inori herself wasn't all that versed in the Christian religion. The queen's crown did not cover that knowledge, making her question the story's actual relevance, but she at least knew that the apple was supposed to be the fruit of wisdom. The snake? She had no idea. The devil, maybe? Someone bad for sure. Regardless of relevance, she could easily see her and Shu in the position of the two persons whose names formed their titles, as well as the envoy in place of the snake, tempting them to bring the apocalypse, something that should take the human race beyond its reach.

She couldn't exactly recall for sure what was supposed to happen after the scene depicted in this picture, but she knew it was bad. Adam and Eve got punished by god, if she had heard correctly. She shook her head slightly in sadness as she looked down. If she and Shu did the same, a similar future would undoubtedly occur. There was no god, Inori was sure of it, but in his place, someone else would punish them. Da'ath. And wasn't its presence any less dangerous? They, too, seemed to be omnipresent, all-seeing and all-powerful. Mana couldn't oppose them…maybe she couldn't either?

She took a step towards the painting, letting her fingers travel gently over the figure that was supposed to depict Adam. Right, if Shu was here, he would be able to tell her how foolish she was for thinking that. He would give her the strength she needed to push forward, take her hand and lead the way himself if needed to. He wouldn't give up. She was sure he was working hard even now. She had to push forward, too. For his sake…their sake.

"Do you like the picture, my queen?" Harune kindly asked to start a conversation, unknowingly pulling the troubled queen from her heavy thoughts. She couldn't help but eye her coldly.

"I am not your queen."

"But you are Eve, are you not?"

Seeing herself unable to deny that fact, the queen agreed with a sigh. "Yes, I am."

"Then you are also my queen." The brunette woman patiently explained to her with a smile. Inori frowned at her. What kind of logic was that supposed to be?

"Is this how you treat your queens then, Da'ath girl?" The pink haired woman asked and pointed at the ring on her finger that shone in its slight purplish glow. "By robbing them of their freedom of will?"

"You left us no choice. You wouldn't even listen…"

"So you made the choice for me instead. I get it." The queen looked away in protest.

Harune offered her a look of sympathy. "Look, I know how you must feel right now, but…"

Inori could only look down in sadness, still offering Harune nothing but her back. "You know nothing about how I feel right now. I had to spend half an eternity fighting Mana over the right to be free. To be my own person. Only to get enslaved again, become a prisoner in my own body. Every second, I scream at my muscles to move, run away from here, yet all they do is stand still, obeying the command of someone else." She turned around again to face the woman pleadingly, holding out her hand that wore that cursed ring. "You want me to be your queen? Then remove this for me."

The former shop clerk looked into those sad crimson eyes of hers, which asked her for an act of mercy. Looking at her pained expression tore away at her heart since she knew that Inori was merely a victim in all of this, just like everyone was. A queen she may have been, but in the end she, too, was only meant to do nature's bidding. The world had decided that there must be an apocalypse, and while humanity was destined to die, Inori was destined to do the killing, whether she wanted to or not. There might have been illusions of choices, but in the end, that's all they were. Illusions. Inori couldn't escape her fate any less than Harune could. The apocalypse would happen, Harune would die and Inori would rule. Those things could not be changed.

Releasing her now would help no one. Neither Da'ath nor Inori herself. She may get back to Shu, but with their unwillingness to bring the apocalypse while Da'ath remained to be around, their forces would continue their meaningless struggle for power. The endless cycle of death even worse than the apocalypse itself would continue to take its course. Harune wanted an end to this. And to bring an end was Da'ath's purpose. She wasn't unable to understand the queen's pain, but in the end, she still averted her eyes regretfully, silently denying her plea. She couldn't do it. Not without betraying the envoy and thus Da'ath as a whole.

Inori retracted her hand and looked away in disappointment as well. "Then I am not your queen. All I am is your captive. Bring me to my cell, then."

"Inori…" Souta didn't know what to say. He felt horribly bad for the poor girl in front of him. Her depiction of the situation sounded downright terrifying. He wouldn't even be able to begin to imagine how it must be like to be controlled by someone else entirely. It sounded wrong, so terribly wrong. He wished he could do something, at least cheer her up somehow, but there was nothing he could say, no words he could muster. How do you brighten up a situation that seemed as hopeless as Inori's was? He didn't know.

And so they had resumed their walk in silence, every one of them continuing to go on with heavy hearts. They eventually reached the next room, in which Harune vanished together with the twins. She didn't say a word, couldn't even look Inori in the eye. When the door closed behind her, Souta and Inori were on their own. The man led the way again until he came to a halt in front of the room he had wanted to give to Inori.

"We are here. For all it's worth, I chose the best room in the whole mansion for you. Well, after Arisa's of course." He told her with a weak smile.

"Thanks, Souta. But a cell is a cell nonetheless."

"I suppose so…"

The queen silently opened the door, but hesitated as she was about to enter. Without turning around, she asked.

"Souta, is your stance on this the same as that girl's? Won't you free me, either?" She asked him calmly, forcing him to look down on his clenched fist in front of his chest in pain.

"I had to make a decision at last, Inori. That decision was to side with Arisa, after all. I am sorry."

She looked down, realizing what he meant. "Arisa hates Shu. To bring him down, having me out of the way is most beneficial to her."

"Yeah…" He gritted his teeth in agony, feeling horrible due to the guilt which gnawed on his heart. "You must hate me, Inori. In the end, I am not different from that scum, Nanba. Nothing but a backstabbing son-of-a-bitch."

That's when he saw her turn around to him, not with anger present on her face, but a kind smile instead, albeit accompanied by tears of disappointment which sparkled in her eyes, trying to break free. She gently shook her head.

"I don't hate you, Souta. I would have, if you had said that you didn't love Arisa earlier. But you didn't, so I understand. Sometimes, you can't have everything. In those times, you will have to try to protect that what is most important to you. We are the same."

Souta was now heard sniffing as he tried to hold back his tears as well, feeling so awfully relieved for Inori's kindness. "You haven't changed after all. When you threatened Nanba earlier, I thought I saw someone I didn't know. But you are still the same kind girl I knew five years ago. I am glad."

"Is that what you think?" The queen asked him with pity in her voice, more for herself than for him. She still smiled, but it looked fake, forced.

"It was an act, right? You wanted to scare them so that they would stay away from Shu." He told her, suddenly sounding not all that convinced anymore, now that he saw that weird smile of hers. His statement sounded more like hope than it did like his true beliefs.

"You are not wrong. I can't protect Shu directly anymore, so I have to do so from afar. I acted like Mana did in order to earn their respect, but that was only after Nanba had slipped out of my reach." She narrowed her eyes, which suddenly turned cold, dark enough to get lost in them forever if you stared at them for too long. "Everything before that was my true self. I wanted to kill Nanba, and I would have if the envoy hadn't intervened. There was no kindness in me then, only murderous intend. The way I am right now, after all the things the world has put me through and still does, I have no desire to be kind. Not to my enemies at least. Do you understand?"

The dark haired man gulped and took a step back, visibly scared by her sinister expression. This…this girl was Inori? The sweet, innocent girl he had known?

"No, I don't. What are you saying?" He asked her nervously.

Inori closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she looked normal again. Calm, collected. At least not dangerous anymore. Now it almost looked as if she was pitying him.

"The world has taught me about many of its darker emotions. I may not be Mana, but I am no longer as kind as you may have thought. Remember how I said we were the same? How I understood why you are willing to betray us for Arisa? Keep that in mind, Souta. Because one day, this ring on my hand will be gone, and when Arisa comes for Shu, I will be the one to strike her down to protect him. If you are going to be her shield, even though I do not hate you, the closest thing to kindness I would be able to offer you, would be to kill you first so that you would not have to watch her die. There might be regret, but there won't be any hesitation." She averted her gaze in silent disdain. "This is what the world has come down to, and that's why I hate it."

She looked down on her hands with disappointment. Back when she had become Eve, she had made the false assumption that these hands of hers could be used to create beautiful things, to improve the world and thus shape a better one. But in the end, she had turned out to be wrong. Those hands were the hands of Eve. The being that destroyed and killed. If killing was all these hands were good for, then kill she would. She couldn't change Eve's nature and neither could she afford to fight it, because that's what she ultimately was. Eve. There was no use denying it or pretending that she was different, that she could change her fate. All she could do was embrace it. She was done with running from what she was supposed to be.

"Just what happened to you, Inori? How could you change so much…? You used to be so kind and innocent…" She could hear Souta mutter more to himself than to anyone. He took another step back and put a hand on his face, shaking his head in disbelief. She could only offer him a defeated looking smile.

"I became a queen. Wear a crown for too long and it will change you forever. All the good intentions you may once have had will soon crumble away and leave nothing behind but the demon you never wanted to become. I tried so hard to not be like Mana, never to notice that Mana herself may have never wanted to be who she eventually turned out to be, either. Now it's too late to go back to how things used to be. We have already become who we are. I am Eve of the apocalypse. Who are you, Souta?"

Leaving that question for him to find an answer to, the pink haired woman entered her room and closed the door with the words: "Good night." There was nothing to be heard in them. No hostility or friendliness. Just neutrality. Calmness.

The black haired knight merely kept standing in the hallway, mouth slightly agape with his face being stuck in an expression of bewilderment. What the flying fuck had just happened? Had she threatened him? Or warned him? Maybe there was a different meaning to her words which he couldn't understand at first because he wasn't exactly smart enough? No, he realized as he closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his mind. He had understood well enough.

"If you have decided to stand on this side, the next time we meet will be on the battlefield, is it…" He spoke out aloud what he subconsciously had realized long ago, yet had not accepted as a fact until it had been shoved right into his face by the queen herself.

Their friendship was over. Tears started to form in his eyes again, but he forced them back with an angry glare.

"Tch…the world really has changed for the worst. Five years ago, all we cared about were our stupid studies. Now all we do is fighting each other. For what? Heck, if I knew…" He punched the nearest wall and let his gaze sink towards the ground, ignoring the pulsing pain in his fist.

"Were these the consequences you were talking about, Shu? Did you know it would come to this? That I would either have to fight you and Inori or Arisa? If you did, why didn't you help me stop it? I felt like I was the only one trying. Was it really futile from the start? Was I a fool for having hope?"

The phone in his pocket vibrated and he took it out with a sigh, curious about who it could be that wanted something form him right now. A pained smile found it way to his lips when he saw from whom the message he had received was from.

_Ouma Shu wrote:_

" _We are in trouble. Some shit went down and Inori got captured by Da'ath. I need all the information on them you can gather ASAP. Call me once you read this and are safe to talk."_

"What do I do…?" He chuckled helplessly at his own question as he looked down on the glowing screen, its artificial light reflecting itself in his sad eyes. Inori's last words then came back to him in his mind.

" _Now it's too late to go back to how things used to be. We have become who we are. I am Eve of the apocalypse. Who are you, Souta?"_

He frowned at his phone's display as he closed the message and opened up the options menu, selecting the "Block all communications" option and pressing it. A new window appeared, asking him to confirm his choice.

"Who I am….?" He asked now, with seriousness in his voice as he pressed "Yes", causing all messages from Shu to vanish from his device before he put it back into his pants' pocket, only to take out the firearm Arisa had given him.

"I am a knight who protects Arisa health and honor. A man sworn to be loyal to no one but her. That's who I am." He said determinedly as he looked down on the weapon, letting his fingers slide over the characters engraved on the handle.

"This is what I have decided." He put the gun away again and looked forward. "This is who I am gonna be."

And with these words he took his first step into the future.

He never looked back again.


	2. Independence

**2\. Independence**

A new day began.

And it wasn't just any day, mind you.

It was the very first day of true kingship. The dawn of a new era. The beginning of a monarchy that should eventually write history. Of a king whose army would at long last end the tyranny of a secret organization hardly anyone even knew existed in this world. A living legend.

There was but a small problem that still stood in the way of said king's way to achieve what was to be his destiny.

Namely…

…he was still asleep.

But as like with all things regarding destiny, such problems were but a minor setback in the greater plan. A trivial disturbance that would get resolved in no time.

As if to prove said point, the king's slumber was soon to be disturbed by his very own cellphone's alarm clock shrieking its loud and annoying noises into his royal ears. Much to the brunette's disdain, as was clearly evident by his frustrated groan.

"Shut up…" As if to obey his command, his phone ceased all further annoyances, having been triggered by his voice. However, it would soon start shrieking once more if its owner wouldn't press a certain numerical combination into it. A clever way to get even the lousiest morning person to wake up in the end.

The young man sighed into his pillow, wondering why his nights were always so horribly short. Wasn't winter supposed to have longer nights? Well, that probably didn't count if you still didn't find the time to get to bed earlier. But nevermind that. Time to get up.

"Morning, Inori. You heard that little bastard…time to get up and…" He yawned tiredly. "…get through another day."

Silence.

He furrowed his brows. Still too tired to actually open his eyes, he decided to shake his lover awake gently, only to let his hand grab into nothing but cold emptiness next to him. Now that was strange. Inori was a sound sleeper, never even once having gotten up before him. It was actually quite to the contrary. If he didn't put in some serious effort to actually wake her up, she would likely continue to sleep until noon, not that he could blame her. He would have liked to do that pretty much all the time. Tiredly he decided to check once more with his hand, tapping various places on the bed confusedly. Nope. No Inori to be found.

This caused him to open his eyes at last, letting his still unfocused and blurry vision focus on the empty place next to him, followed by scanning the room only to find the very same kind of emptiness there as well. That's when realization befell him and his stomach tensed up due to the uncomfortable feeling it provided.

"Oh…yeah…" With a defeated sigh, the king lay down again on his back and spread his arms to his left and right as he lied there and stared at the ceiling above him absent mindedly. "…right."

He had allowed himself to momentarily assume he had just dreamt that whole mess from yesterday up somehow, ignoring the fact that he had spent half the night trying to fall asleep without the soothing noise of Inori silently breathing next to him.

A pained chuckle escaped his lips. You would not believe how quickly you could get accustomed to such seemingly trivial noises, going as far as actually missing them when they were gone to such an extent that you actually couldn't fall asleep anymore without them. It had simply been too…quiet…among other things.

It must have sounded funny…Shu was sure people would laugh at him if he ever told someone that he hadn't been able to fall asleep due to it having been "too quiet" of all things, but it was true. It just hadn't been the same. It was as if his body could sense that something important was amiss, making it unable for it to relax properly.

But of course it wasn't all bad, right? Looking at it positively, Shu had to admit that it was kinda cool that he suddenly had all this room in his bed. Even though he really didn't need it…

Or that there hadn't been the problem of Inori's cold feet wrapping themselves around his own legs…although her otherwise really warm body was gone as well, not to mention that the coldness of her feet never had bothered him anyway…

….

Yep, this "looking positive" thing clearly didn't work. What a load of bull. There was nothing positive about this shit at all.

This strange feeling he felt right now was sort of like a déjà vu, really. He felt like this wasn't all that much different from how he had used to wake up all the time from not even a month ago. Actually, if he were to close his eyes right now, it would literally be the same. Him waking up. Alone. In darkness. For five freaking years. He hated just thinking about it.

Well, at least her scent still lingered on the sheets, though Shu wasn't exactly sure if that comforted him or actually only made him miss her more.

Either way, things weren't as hopeless as they were before. Inori existed. She wasn't dead, not permanently lost. He could get her back, _would_ get her back. It was just a matter of time. His pitiful blind self was dead. He wasn't that man anymore. Determination took over his facial expression.

That's right. He was a king now. Adam of the motherfucking apocalypse. Time to live up to the name.

He got up from his bed and stretched his tired muscles, followed by taking a glance at his left where some unfamiliar clothes were hanging on the back of a chair. That's when he suddenly remembered. Yesterday, shortly after his speech, a small group of seamstresses had basically ambushed him on his way back to his room. Before he could ask them what they had wanted, they had already surrounded him with eager smirks present on their faces. Then they had jumped him like vultures, using voids and everything on their hand to take his measurements and asking him question about favorite colors and stuff. They had even made him use his king's power so that they could take a photo of the symbol that would appear on the back of his hand whenever he did. They had claimed it had been for later use. He had had no idea what "later use" actually had implied, but by the time they had eventually gotten what they had wanted, he had been far too dizzy and confused to even ask. Simply standing there, he had watched them go, waving him good bye and wishing him a good night. One of them had winked at him and told him to look forward to their little present in the morning. So this was what they had meant?

He took a closer look at the attire, disregarding the fact that they must have entered his room and placed it here during his sleep without him even allowing them as such. Oh well, he guessed he could forgive them for being so eager. It probably was better for them to be so motivated due to his speech yesterday rather than having them mope around in a corner. Plus, since Inori still wore his old clothes, he couldn't deny that he had, indeed, needed a replacement. Remembering the current situation of his absent queen made him frown, so he dismissed the thought. Speaking of old clothes, he noticed a distinct lack of the boorish grey ones Inori had fetched for him the night before. He couldn't help but smirk at that. Those girls who had brought him his new outfit must have taken the old ones with them as they had left. These cocky, little girls were quite the confident ones, weren't they? He could almost envision them saying "Wearing these is a big no-go. A king has to look dashing. You have to wear the ones we made you, no objections.", with their confident grins hard plastered on their faces as they left. Oh well, it wasn't like he had any objections to raise anyway.

The shirt they had made him was a white one that bore a red and black symbol on its front side that consisted of a muster that looked like double helixes being enclosed by a crystal prism. Despite its simplicity, he couldn't deny that he liked the look of it. It was oddly fitting for Genesis if you assume they intended to represent strains of DNA held together by a crystal formation. In a sense, you could say that the picture represented the Genesis that were guarded by Eve. It brought a smile to his lips. They had obviously put some thoughts into this. He put it on, followed by doing the same with the dark blue jeans they had also provided him with. Next was a long, black hooded coat with red seams that held the symbol of his king's power on its back, also in the matching color. It was big and rather in your face and Shu couldn't shake the feeling that he sort of looked like those delinquents that led biker gangs, but he still was moved by the addition somehow. He would have been fine with just the symbol on his shirt, even though it kind of left him out and only put Inori in the center of attention, but the seamstresses had gone out of their way to add something of his into his getup as well, which kind of made him feel like he was being accepted as their king, rather than being just an addition to their queen. He had previously thought that he wouldn't have cared if that had been the case, but deep down, he had had to admit that it really felt better if things were this way. After all, Inori and he came as a team. You can't have one without the other, so it was good that the Genesis understood that as well. The outfit was complete with a red scarf which he wrapped around his neck. Just by wearing this, he already felt the weight of a king's responsibilities resting on his shoulders. The Genesis counted on him and supported him. He wouldn't disappoint.

When his stupid phone decided to annoy him again with its alarm, he reached for it with quite some annoyance written all over his face, almost punching into it the code required to make it shut up for good. How lucky he was that there was no actual screen to be punched, only a holographic projection that would distort a bit every time his finger got into its way.

Since he already had his hands on the device, he figured he might as well check if Souta had answered his message, only to frown when he was forced to look at a blank screen after he had opened up the written conversation he and his dark haired friend shared, or were supposed to share right now at least. You couldn't really call it a conversation when the other person wasn't taking part in it in any way. The king could clearly see that Souta must have read his message yesterday night, so it left him a bit confused about the fact that he hadn't replied yet. He was aware that a spy couldn't just drop all things and message his contact person any time they wanted, but the brunette man was pretty sure that it wouldn't have been too hard to stay awake for a bit longer and wait until everyone was asleep, then silently write back without anyone noticing. What was that guy doing?

"How weird…" Shu decided to comment and put his mobile away. Well, no use pondering it all that much. He was sure there was a completely logical explanation for this. It probably meant nothing, anyway. He caught himself narrowing his eyes bitterly. It better did.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, the king swiftly left his room to make his way to the refectory, deciding to grab something to eat real quick before getting down to business, only to notice yet again the distinct absence of some quiet, yet melodious humming of his queen next to him. A small sting in his heart could be felt then and there, but he chose to ignore it to his best extent and moved on with a small shake of the head.

Once he had entered the refectory, the whole room got plunged into utter silence as all eyes immediately rested on him. Lifting a brow at this in confusion, he merely proceeded to find his way to the people waiting in line for their food, only to see them all making room for him immediately. He sighed at this, not feeling very comfortable about their special treatment towards him, but decided that it was far too early in the morning to already start explaining how such behavior towards him wasn't necessary, so he merely accepted their kindness for what it was, skipped ahead to the very front of the line, received his portion of fried eggs and bacon and, without another word, embarked on his quest to find a table to sit at.

His search turned out to be a rather easy one, seeing as to how Hare's cheerful voice was quick to catch his attention. Turning his head into the direction he had heard it coming from, he was quick to spot her as well as Ayase and Jun sitting at a table not that far away from him. Offering her a kind smile, obviously thankful for the invitation to sit at their table with them, he nodded at her and proceeded to find his way over to them.

A slight suspicion dawned on him once he had placed down his tray on the table, silently wondering if he hadn't secretly gotten some of the better meals now that he could see that neither Hare, Jun, nor Ayase could claim to have the honor of having bacon resting on their plates. Now, of course they could have already eaten it, Shu thought and found even most likely, given how he would have done the same in their stead, but he somehow found himself doubting that scenario still, given how it was unlikely that there was enough bacon for everyone in this hideout. Plus, the way his friends kept eying his plate kind of already told stories about their envy.

Shu playfully decided to move his tray a bit to the right, followed by reversing the action and moving it back to the left, getting slightly amused by his friend's eyes keeping their focus straight at it. Chuckling slightly at them, he asked:

"I suppose you guys didn't receive any of this, huh?"

"We did, though only one strip. You got two. Lucky you." Jun explained to the king, still looking at the pieces of meat longingly. Ayase was then seen folding her arms and looking away in annoyance.

"Some of us _didn't_ get to eat their portion, because a certain hacker girl decided to run us by, grab my bacon, stuff it in her mouth, grin at me cheekily, followed by offer me a half-assed apologetic salute and saying "Sorry, Aya-nee. I am really busy and have no time to get my own breakfast. Thanks for the treat! I will make it up to you some time! See ya later!" Urgh…I will _murder_ that girl someday…" She was seen strangling someone's invisible throat in front of her angrily with quite some anger. Shu had had to force himself not to laugh during her mocking Tsugumi-imitation, too.

When he looked at Hare next, curious as to why she was sighing with so much agreement in her voice right next to him while letting her chin rest on the table listlessly.

"Right after that, Haruka came by, getting appalled by the sheer length of the waiting queue, knowing that she would likely not get a single strip of bacon by the time it would disperse, so what did she do? She spotted me, came right up to me, used the sweetest of voices she could muster and said: "Hare, dear, tell me, do you really mean to eat that bacon?" So I told her: "Yes, I do."…Can you imagine what she did then and there, Shu? Can you?" She asked him with a quite demanding voice while grabbing Shu by his collar almost out of habit. The king didn't mind, knowing Hare had always been like this when she was getting worked up. With a pained smile, he closed his eyes and raised his right index finger as if to imitate Haruka's all-knowing side and replied:

"Don't eat too much bacon, dear. Bacon, like other processed meats, could contribute to heart disease and cancer. I am only worried for your health." He then sighed knowingly and added: "When I was little, she would always say that and then grab my portion. And every time I called her out on being a hypocrite, she only said that adults could eat bacon because they are resistant to cancer or some bullshit, followed by winking at me cheekily…by the time I realized I had been tricked horribly, she would already be halfway out of the door, sending me a good bye kiss and heading out for work."

"Mother of the year award right there, folks." Ayase couldn't help but add with a dry chuckle.

Hare's eyes filled with tears, feeling nothing but sympathy for her king since she had been forced to experience Haruka's trickery firsthand. "She did the same to me, too. Only that she said I was gaining weight and that I had to look after myself if I wanted the boys to pay attention to me…" She told him with a stream of tears silently pouring out of her eyes.

"Tell me, Shu. Is it true? Have I gotten fat? Do I still look attractive to you?" She suddenly asked him with desperation, shaking him repeatedly.

The brunette king tried to calm her down gently while also replying: "Relax, Hare, you look fine to me."

"Really? You mean it?" For some reason she decided to gleam at these words, only to have Jun eye her from the corner of his eyes, muttering quietly as he brought his mug up to his lips to take a sip of his tea:

"Though there _is_ a part of your body that seems to have gotten even huger compared to the first time I met you…" His stare was subtly directed at the medic's chest area.

"You know, it doesn't surprise me one bit that you are _that man_ 's younger brother." Ayase chose to say with narrowed eyes as soon as she had heard him say that. She gave him a disapproving look while leaning her head against her hand in a bored fashion.

But the younger Samukawa sibling only offered her his biggest smile and two thumbs up in return. "Don't be jealous, Ayase. I believe in my big brother and you! I am sure he only has eyes for you!"

"Come again?" Ayase asked him darkly, causing him to flinch slightly, his smile turning into a nervous one as he partially hid behind Shu.

"Woah, my future sister-in-law seems quite scary. A little help, Shu?"

Sighing in sympathy at his friends, Shu took one of his bacon strips and placed it on Ayase's plate. "Cheer up, Ayase. You can have one of mine."

With eyes sparkling from happiness, she was seen clapping her hands together as she gleamed at him. "Really?" A mischievous smirk then formed on her lips as she raised her chopsticks to take hold of the bacon, chuckling evilly. "You know, I won't allow you to change your mind afterwards."

"Don't worry, it's yours." The king told her with a kind smile and a small shrug.

"Yay! Thanks a bunch, Shu! Now, come to mama!" As Ayase was about to take a hold of her precious prize, she was horrified to see Jun reaching out at it on the same time. Now both were holding one end of the strip, eying each other in a challenging fashion.

"What's this now, Jun?" Ayase asked with narrowed down eyes.

"Today marks the first day of a new month, so it's time for tax collection. 50% of this bacon belongs to the king and his kingdom." He explained with a confident smirk on his lips.

"The hell? It was given to me by Shu himself. Fuck off."

"The kingdom doesn't care where you have gotten these goods from. Half of it are to be given to the kingdom on the first of each month!" He told her with unwavering determination.

Looking at those two in confusion, Shu ended up whispering to Hare: "Did Inori really collect taxes?"

Hare was just seen shaking her head with a small smile. "As if. He is making it all up because he wants half of her bacon." She explained knowingly.

"So that's what this is about, you little devil!" Ayase then told him with an evil smirk. "You think I will get cheated off my meal twice in one day? Think again!" The brunette woman spotted a grain of rice resting on the table and flicked it at the younger Samukawa brother with quite some force, making it hit him in his right eye. What pinpoint accuracy. As the younger man flinched in surprise and let go, Ayase yanked the piece of delicious meat away from him triumphantly and laughed.

"Victory is mine, shrimp!" Her laughter was soon to die off, however, once she realized that she had pulled back the bacon with too much force, causing her to lose grip on it with her chopsticks. It flew away into the air in a high arc. Everyone looked at it in shock, with Ayase having quite an expression of despair plastered on her face. Her food!

Luckily for her, before the precious meat could hit the floor, it was caught by another pair of chopsticks belonging to a certain grumpy scientist with black hair. Keido had happened to pass them by and had managed to catch the object with ease from behind Ayase, putting into display his superior reflexes and a Genesis' marvelous eyesight.

"Did your parents never teach you brats that playing with food is bad manners? Seriously, what is up with this generation?" He told them off with annoyance. Ayase for her part didn't mind his scolding and eyed him with a happy grin instead, holding out her plate for him to put the bacon on.

"Yeah, yeah. We suck and you are so awesome. Good job, Keido. There, I said it, so can I have my bacon back, please?"

The older man sighed as he was about to return her property, when his eyes happened to see what it had been that he had caught in the first place. Shortly before Ayase was about to grab the juicy piece of meat back from him, he retracted his hand, eying the object longingly for a second before closing them in an attempt to hide his desire from the youngsters.

Coughing once, he said: "On second thought, since those imbeciles that keep handing out the food denied me any bacon in the first place, maybe it would be only fair to keep this strip for myself to serve as a lesson to you children."

"Huuuuh?" Ayase didn't hesitate to voice her disapproval, followed by eying the man with quite some disdain as she gritted her teeth. "You wanna die, old man?"

This sparked the proud man's spirit of competition. Looking down on her from his standing position with an aura of superiority, he replied:

"Hoh? You think you could best me, young lady? Me, a Genesis? I would like to see you try." He held the piece of bacon close enough for her to grab it with her own chopsticks and they both shared a confident smirk with each other. "Ready?" He asked with a raised brow, almost oozing his confidence into his surroundings, even going as far as to put his other hand behind his back as if to say: "Look, I will even refrain from using my full power. Show me all you got." It was a bizarre sight seeing the older man like that. He gave off the impression of a foolish and passionate youth, rather than the older, smart man he actually was. The illusion might have been caused by the fact that he barely looked any older than the rest of the group. He could have dropped the moustache and would have blended in almost perfectly. How scary.

"Don't cry when I end up defeating you, alright?"

"Oh please, what can a pitiful girl like you do to a-" Keido was about to say with closed eyes, when all of a sudden, Ayase hit him right in his crotch, causing him to let go of the bacon in an instant and go down to his knees due to the pain.

"Humanity: one, Genesis: Z.E.R.O." The brunette girl winked at him and offered him a V, formed by her index and middle finger as she shoved the bacon into her mouth as a whole. Keido cursed while Ayase was busy savoring the delicious taste of bacon spreading all over her taste buds. Her face gained a healthy color as she put both her hands on her cheeks dreamily.

"I-I have encountered a cr-critical flaw in evolution…" The pained man could only admit in defeat as he found his seat next to the gang with shaky legs, trying to get a hold of himself.

Jun was offering the man a look of sympathy as he eyed Ayase coldly. "She wouldn't have won against Genesis if she had remained fair…"

"Idiot. Why would I play fair against superhumans, huh? It's your fault for letting your guard down." She told them while showing them her tongue in protest. Both Genesis couldn't help but eye her in disdain, though unable to deny that she had had a point.

Shu only grinned at the whole scene, finding himself quite amused by his friends' actions. Next to him, however, Hare could only sigh in envy as she watched Ayase munch on her victory prize in satisfaction. Noticing this, the king found that his hand was forced. He shook his head in defeat and whispered:

"There you go, Hare. Have the other one." The brunette girl next to him made wide eyes when she saw him placing his sole remaining bacon on her plate. With a playful wink, he added: "Be fast, before the kingdom decides to collect taxes again."

Tears of happiness formed in the medic's eyes and, feeling overwhelemed by her emotions, she literally tackled her king down in a bear hug.

"Really? I love you, Shu!" She declared, snuggling close to him. That's when she noticed the people around them starting to mumble.

"Did you guys hear that? Hare just confessed to the king." One Genesis on the table behind them muttered in awe.

"Can she do that? Is that legal?"

"How cold. Taking her chances while the queen is away…"

"No fair, Hare! I love the king, too. Get in line!"

"Don't do it, Hare! Don't become a mere concubine! You can do better!"

"Why does the king get all the cute girls…?"

Various voices of either curiosity, approval or disapproval reached her Genesis ears, no matter how quietly they were muttered, causing her to back away from Shu quickly with her face having been painted in the color of shame as she closed her eyes and held back the tears that started forming in her eyes. Why did fate always punish her so? Was this some sort of karma? When she opened her eyes again, she noticed two hands reaching out to her precious gift from the king, causing her to quickly grab the piece of meat before anyone else could and munch on it like a hamster with still teary eyes and a rather sullen expression. At least she would find a bit of comfort in its delicious taste.

Jun and Keido retracted their hands with a "Tch!" and buried their faces in their tea mugs as they looked in opposite directions like vultures that had been denied their claim by another carnivore. Shu for his part hadn't really noticed what this was all about, having been far too absorbed in his task of making short work of his fried eggs. As generous as he had felt today, he wouldn't part with those at least. Even a king had to eat, no?

"I see, Hare finally got a taste of Shu's meat. You must be happy." They all suddenly heard Yahiro say as he also put his tray on the table and sit down next to Hare. His little brother couldn't help but start breaking into a coughing fit due to him having been in the middle of drinking when a sudden urge to laugh befell him.

Hare just looked at him with wide eyes from panic. "W-w-w-wha-whaaaaat?"

Ayase for her part only eyed the newcomer with eyes narrowed down with disgust. "Some of us are still eating here, you know?"

The man in question only shrugged with a mischievous grin and said. "Ah, sorry, Ayase. Don't be too upset. Your chance will come eventually, right Shu?"

"She already got some before you arrived." He merely told him, totally oblivious to what his friend's words actually implied.

"Really?" Yahiro then eyed Ayase again, still grinning and savoring the angry and embarrassed look she sent his way before continuing with: "Damn, Shu. You really don't fuck around. Or maybe it's the opposite…?"

"What are you talking about…?" The man in question asked the strategist with a questioning expression when Keido was heard sighing in annoyance.

"Enough with these childish innuendoes. Don't we have more pressing matters to discuss here? What's the plan, brat? Care to share your next move with us?" Keido asked Shu grumpily as he closed his eyes in annoyance.

Hearing this, the king immediately assumed a serious expression as he pushed his plate aside and leaned forward on the table with both his elbows, eying his council sharply.

"Right. If we want to take down Da'ath, we got to start getting rid of our enemies first, starting with the easiest one. "

"So…the SDF?" Yahiro was quick to follow, having dropped his playful smirk almost instantly in favor of a calculating look. Everyone saw the king nod at that.

"But weren't we aiming for their cooperation?" Hare asked in surprise.

"That was hopeless from the start. They made it quite obvious that they would never cooperate." Keido said with a frown. "Nothing but a waste of time."

"I agree." Shu was then heard saying. "The only reason we kept trying was because of Argo, and since that guy's opinion is no longer of importance, we can finally start pursuing a more effective method." He told them with a raised finger.

"And what method would that be? Elimination?" Ayase wondered.

The king shook his head, but before he could correct her, Jun had already opened his mouth with a knowing grin. "Assimilation, right?"

Everyone looked at him with expression ranged from disbelief to amazement. While Shu offered him an impressed look, obviously happy that someone else was thinking the same thing he had, his elder brother was just seen smirking at the younger one in pride as if saying "That's my little brother!"

"But how's that gonna work?" Ayase objected with nothing but doubt in her eyes. "They wouldn't work with us, so how do you expect them to do what we say even if we manage to force them into our ranks?"

"It's easy." Yahiro then said as he folded his arms and closed his eyes, thinking. "The military is weak right now. Morale should have plunged to an all-time low due to their failed attacks on loop seven. They have also wasted a lot of resources on these invasion attempts. If we form a careful plan, we could easily surround and capture them. They will be on their knees and surrendering before you even know it. I bet the majority wouldn't even object to fight for our side if we promise them to spare their lives that way."

Keido nodded at that. "That would work, but why go that far? Simply take out their leader and replace him with someone who supports you. You will have a higher conversion rate that way as the enemy will have fewer reasons to oppose the change. Especially if the assassination was done in secret." He explained with a dark expression. No one at the table doubted that the man clearly had experience regarding that area.

"You guys are onto something here." Shu decided to say with a smirk. "But why waste resources at all when it could be so much easier?"

Everyone merely looked at him as if he had said something ridiculous. "Well, I give up. What's the plan, Shu? What are we gonna do?" Yahiro eventually sighed in defeat and asked the king directly, only to see said man's smirk to grow even wider.

"Absolutely nothing." He told them with a shrug.

"Come again?" His friends merely stared at him as if he was nuts. He chose to meet their disbelief with a slight chuckle.

"Have any of you guys recently had a look on what people think about all this on the net?" He offered them as he took out his phone to open up a homepage he had obviously viewed before. He handed the device to his friends who looked at its holo screen, seeing a certain message board with threads being titled: "Is it me or am I seeing dead people?" or "Loop seven freak having striking resemblance with deceased celebrity". When the group decided to take a closer look at one of these threads, they could see people claiming to have recognized some of the loop seven "freaks", in other words Genesis, for being dead people come to life. However, those posts weren't that spread out and the majority of the other users chose to treat the original posters like trolls trying to stir up some conspiracy bullshit. In all fairness, it _did_ sound rather ridiculous if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes.

"So people are catching on." Ayase realized, sounding slightly taken aback. She wouldn't have thought it would happen so soon.

"Yeah, but still only a few people. Most are still in denial." Hare argued. A detail the king didn't seem to sweat.

"It's all we need. Remember what made Tennozu fall all those years ago?"

Hare and Jun looked at Shu in puzzlement, but Ayase and Yahiro were following his thoughts alright.

"You mean to start a rumor like Arisa did." The strategist of the group deduced with a smirk as if to say: "You crazy bastard!"

"I wish I could say that this was madness, but if anyone should know how well that stuff works, I guess it should be us, huh…" Ayase agreed with a troubled expression.

"Right. At least I learned from my mistakes. The SDF may be prepared to fight us with all their might, however little there might be left of it, but they can't fight civilians. Once the protected turn against their protector, it's basically game over for them. Just like it was for me." Shu explained with a pained smile.

"Unless the general decides that he is in the right to put those civilians into their place by force. Wouldn't be the first time I saw people throwing others into the fire to save their own skin." Keido argued back, pointing out a critical flaw in the plan. Heck, he had probably done it himself quite a few times, too. If Iwamoto decided to drag this on to the very last man, dozens of innocent people would die. The expressions of everyone else immediately grew grim.

"Better them than us…" Yahiro eventually replied bitterly. Shu couldn't help but silently agree to that. Keido was seen nodding slightly in agreement as well while Ayase only looked away, visibly troubled. Hare seemed as if she was the sole one who wanted to object, but eventually found herself biting down on her lower lip, choosing to remain silent instead. It wouldn't have been the first civilian casualties they had chosen to accept as terrorists, after all.

"We can't leave things to chance, though…" Jun told them with a sad sigh after a small moment of silence. "If the general chooses to fight, he will slaughter the civilians mercilessly. His soldiers are better equipped and are trained for combat. The people of Tokyo would all just die for nothing. People will end up wasting their lives and we our advantage."

The king nodded, obviously seeing where the younger man was coming from. "True. Which is why we won't simply rely on the help of people to ensure our victory. They will only be the distraction for what I really have in mind. But more about that later, first things first, let me hear about the status of our group. How many people decided to stay and fight?"

When he saw the strategist frown at him, he immediately knew that the news weren't going to be good.

"I haven't finished counting, but it seems like, from the unevolved faction, about a third silently departed from our hideout last night." He took out a small sheet of paper from the back pocket of his pants, folded it open and had a look at it. "The majority of quitters appear to be newcomers, so that's not that much of a loss, but the guys Argo had brought with him naturally left as well, probably trying to get back into the SDF if they can." He explained to Shu, who only shrugged it off.

"Tch, fine with me. If things go according to plan, those guys will find themselves working together with us again in no time."

"Some of them seemed to have died, however, as they had tried to raid our weapon storage before they left. It appears that they didn't think it would be guarded by Genesis." Ayase added to the report, having seen some corpses being dragged away from the armory earlier this morning.

"Ah, that's kind of my fault." Jun nervously raised his hand with a sheepish grin. "I sorta expected them to do that, so I placed some extra pair of eyes around the area. Figured it wouldn't hurt. Seems like I was right."

"They didn't have to kill them, though…" The brunette medic next to him argued with sadness in her voice.

"I disagree. Killing those thieves sends a clear message to further possible offenders." Keido was quick to tell her, which resulted in them both glaring at each other coldly, before Shu decided to go between them with a sigh.

"What's done is done. I bet the Genesis in question were decent enough to at least warn them before killing them, so it was most likely their fault anyway. Not to mention that it should have been obvious that stealing from us would be a serious crime."

"Well, I suppose that's true." Hare found herself forced to agree. She knew the Genesis better than she did the Undertakers. And if there was one thing she believed her Genesis friends to be, then it would be honorable. They wouldn't have stepped so low as to murder the Undertakers in cold blood, even despite all their misdeeds towards them.

"Speaking of Genesis,…" Jun then continued the report with a huge and proud grin. "I am happy to announce that not a single Genesis has left overnight. They all have vowed their loyalty to you, Shu."

"Every single one?" For some reason, it was Ayase who seemed to be the most baffled one of the group. To her right, Keido could only grumble in annoyance.

"You make it sound like a huge feat, yet it's their only real option, isn't it? Even if the majority of them are Japanese, not all of them would be from Tokyo…and some of them have been considered dead for up to 15 years. Not to mention the foreigners. Their homes would either be already gone by now or never had existed in this town to begin with. They would have nowhere to go, even if they wanted to leave." He explained bitterly while folding his arms in front of his chest, pretty sure of himself.

The younger Samukawa brother couldn't help but frown at that. "You know, what you say may be true, but still, you don't have to make it sound as if they only stayed because of that…"

"Neither did you have to spread the illusion that everyone is following that brat simply because he happens to be their queen's lover…" Keido argued back, causing Jun to try and hide his anger behind a fake smile.

"You say that, but I bet you that if you let other Genesis hear that, you won't be able to avoid having a rough conversation with them afterwards."

"Heh, I bet most of the people would like to beat him up even if he walked past them silently." Yahiro chose to add with a shrug. He threw a short glance at the scientist in question and remembered how he had looked like when they had freed him from his "cell" yesterday evening, following Shu's speech. Calling his detainment room a "cell" would have been a compliment, though. A more fitting description would actually have been "torture room". The Undertakers had pretty much used him as a punching bag the whole time he had been in there. If Yahiro had to guess, they had probably thought of it as stress relief. Even Yahiro had winced when he had seen the state he had been in when he had come out of it. Though he gave the man credit for still being able to have his cold stare down, even when beaten to a pulp. This guy's pride really knew no limits. The scientist didn't reply afterwards, only averted his gaze in defiance as he uttered a silent: "Tch…"

"What about the Queenbreakers, though?" Hare decided to get back on topic again. Shu only looked at her in confusion.

"The what?"

Jun was heard sighing in frustration next to him, shaking his head disapprovingly. "The hostile Genesis we captured when we tried capturing Mana. They call themselves the Queenbreakers. What a tasteless name, if you asked me. We have yet to deal with them."

Shu frowned upon hearing that. An unpleasant memory crawled back to him soon afterwards. "Oh, that's right. With all this shit happening the last few days, I totally forgot about them. Well, shall we go, then?" He had barely finished his sentence when he had already risen from his seat, waiting for his friends to do the same.

Jun only looked at him in surprise. "Go where?"

"Deal with these rebels, of course. Bring some backup, Jun. They might not like my way of solving things." As Shu was seen offering the younger man a playful smirk, the latter was already busy giving his king a hasty salute before running off with a: "Yes, my liege!"

Shu chuckled at that and watched the man go with a pleased nod, burying his hands in his jacket's pockets.

His friends had gotten up by now as well, slowly gathering around him. Except for Keido, who merely passed him by. However, he stopped for a moment just to say: "If you are going to kill them anyway, you might want to consider sending them off to the lab. There are a few…risky tests I couldn't perform yet." His voice was neutral, as if merely making a suggestion. Perhaps it was because of that, that Shu decided to take it as just that and smirk in return.

"And here I thought you wanted to change your ways?"

The scientist merely shrugged at that, unimpressed. Not turning around to seek eye contact, he replied: "I never harmed your stupid fanclub, did I? All I am offering here is to make better use of the bodies you will possibly dispose of. If you sentence them to death, it shouldn't matter to you _how_ they die, does it?" He argued logically, causing Shu to shrug, still smirking.

"You have a point. I will keep that in mind, but don't hold your breath on these bodies of yours. I have different plans entirely. Disappointed?" He turned around to the older man, already expecting eyes filled with annoyance looking back at him. To his surprise, though, Keido only shook his head with closed eyes and started walking away.

"Do what you want, brat. You are playing the role of a king here, with me merely being the scientist. We both have our jobs. You do yours and I do mine." And with that, he finally took his leave.

"Well, that's fine with me." Shu turned around again, not really minding his attitude. That's just how he was and always would be, he supposed.

"So you're not gonna kill them." Yahiro repeated with both his arms folded in front of his chest after having overheard their conversation.

"You disapprove?" Shu wanted to know, raising a brow.

"Depends. What's the alternative you have in mind?"

"You'll see. Though what I have in mind for them might just be indirect murder anyway. Well, that would depend on their decision, I guess." He shrugged and began leading the way with Yahiro, Hare and Ayase following suit after having drawn out his own void first. Shortly after, Jun and ten other Genesis met up with them again to march towards the small prison section of their hideout together. Well, calling it a section was rather exaggerating, to be honest. It still was nothing more but a small former storage room that had been repurposed into a cell with still the same guard standing in front of it. The young man of merely fifteen years had looked as if he had been bored out of his mind, when he suddenly spotted the huge group of Genesis approaching him. Once he noticed that they were led by Shu, he visibly panicked, not sure whether to bow or salute and ended up doing the latter clumsily, followed by the former.

"My king." He said in respect as he bowed. Shu just signaled him to stand at ease with the help of a small hand gesture. The people in the cell finally noticed the royal presence as well, with the cocky, dark skinned woman with the brown, curly hair leaning against the bars of the cell casually as she smirked at the visitors.

"Would you look at that, the king finally decided to grant us the honor of his presence. What can I do for you, _your highness_?" She asked with quite some scorn as she feigned a mocking bow.

Shu raised a brow at her and looked over her shoulder to see the rest of the prisoners that slowly started gathering behind her.

"And you are…?" He eventually wanted to know.

"This one's name is Malena, if you need to know." She replied with a grin and winked at him, not the least impressed by his presence.

"She's the one we believe converted Juan into her ranks." Jun stepped forward next to him and explained with a sullen expression as he kept staring at the woman that was apparently called Malena with nothing but disapproval. She only threw a kiss his way to mess with him.

"That's quite some accusation, honey. Do you have any proof?"

"Testimonies say that he was seen talking to you shortly before the rebellion." Yahiro said accusingly to back up his brother. The woman only threw a knowing look at the young guard standing next to her cell and smirked.

"Testimonies, eh? All you have got is the word of a youngster standing guard here all day. If that's all you got, that's hardly called sound evidence. Especially since he ain't that reliable to begin with. He isn't all that strong. We would have been long gone if we had our voids." Her eyes flashed back at the king, now with a bit of anger in them.

Shu ignored her remark and turned around to Jun. "There are quite a few more people in there than I remember taking prisoners." He noted.

"Those are the ones that were with Juan. They were the few ones that were allowed to walk around the hideout freely while Argo was still in charge, though we didn't hesitate to throw them in here as soon as that wasn't the case anymore." The younger man explained calmly.

"So they still have their voids, right?" Shu deduced logically.

"Yes, though we made sure that they couldn't draw them." Yahiro said and pointed at the Genesis inside the cell that had been put in crystalline chains, unable to move their arms. The king didn't need long to understand where those chains had come from. A small glance at the teenage guard who was proudly smiling at him was all he needed to know how they had come into existence.

"Good work." Shu couldn't help but nod with a smile, causing the guard's grin to grow even wider. Malena only uttered a snarky "Tch" at that.

"Look at this fool, getting so happy for being praised by some dude calling himself king. I never understood why you simply decided to follow him. Just because Inori simply came up one day and made him her king? And you all just accepted that? Stuuuupiiiiid." She sighed in disappointment. "You idiots are just asking to get enslaved by royalty. Just watch this jackass use and discard you without batting an eye, just like Mana had and Inori eventually did as well. Fuck queens and fuck this king, too." She spit in Shu's face, followed by starring him down coldly. Everyone else merely gasped at her actions with a few rebels snickering behind her in approval.

It was quiet for a second as the king took the handkerchief Hare was kindly offering him to wipe his face clean, then he offered the woman quite a fake smile and said:

"Well, aren't you quite the lively one. I suppose you are the leader of this little rebel force, huh? Good. That might make things easier later." He turned around to the Genesis that Jun had brought with him.

"Draw your voids and be on guard." Once the small group of evolved humans had complied and formed a semicircle around the exit of the cell with weapons drawn and ready, the teenage guard noticed how the king looked at him next and continued: "Release the prisoners."

He gulped at the order, but didn't dare question them. Lifting his right hand reluctantly, he used it to tip off his void hat which immediately made the bars at the doorway disappear as if they had never been there in the first place.

"Prisoners, come out and line up in front of your cell." Was Shu's next order. His friends merely watched how the woman and her followers came out of the door warily, obviously looking for a chance to escape. However, since the ten Genesis left them no opening and they lacked voids themselves, there was no way they could force their way out of there. Reluctantly, they chose to obey, no less curious about what the king would have in store for them than his friends were.

Once they all stood in front of the king, he continued to walk up to them and took the remaining voids of the rebels who had joined Juan and stored them inside his void arm. Then he continued to walk up and down the row of traitors and began to speak.

"A couple of days ago, you guys were captured and brought here because you fought against us and lost. Back then, I didn't know what we should do with you. But I am no longer the man I was back then and neither do you have to be. I know what I should do with you now. The question is, are you ready to be reborn in the same way I have? I guess we will find out soon enough." He finished his little speech and came to a halt in front of Malena who chose to eye him with suspicion.

"The hell are you talking about, _king_?" She hissed out the last word with quite some hatred.

"There were mistakes. I cannot deny that. But that doesn't have to be the end of things. After all, Genesis are, in a sense, still human, evolved or not. Thus, we are not flawless. Heck, even I do mistakes frequently. That doesn't mean we can't correct them. I am offering you guys a chance today. You have obviously chosen the path of independence and I can respect that, but I will grant you one last chance to change your mind and gain forgiveness. The choice, however, is yours, as I won't force you to do either. Whether you choose to live in my and Inori's kingdom or live in independence is all up to you. I would suggest you choose carefully, though, as your decision will affect the rest of your life." He stepped back from them only to turn around to them again with a fist clenched in front of his chest. Everyone was only looking at him in confusion.

"Now then, rebels. Decide. Will you admit your wrongdoing and seek forgiveness? Then bow down now and vow your loyalty to me. It will be your first step and your only chance into rehabilitation. Will you take it?"

A few of the weaker spirited people among their ranks didn't hesitate to throw themselves onto the ground, whimpering and hoping for their lives to be spared. However, the majority of them continued to keep standing. Malena only threw cold glances at the trash that had immediately surrendered and directed her eyes back at the king afterwards, smirking defiantly.

"And if we won't?"

Shu closed his eyes and sighed at her response. He lifted his left hand and pointed down the hallway.

"Then I will have no other choice but to ask of you to get the hell out of here, never to return."

That was the moment in which everyone started to look at him dumbfounded, including his friends and allies. Confused muttering was heard from all sides, but Shu chose to ignore it. Eventually Malena couldn't help but laugh heartily, holding her stomach in the process.

"Are you for fucking real, _your majesty_? You will let us go? Just like that?"

"Sure. If you don't want to live in my and Inori's kingdom, I will not force you to. But once you are banished, you will never be allowed to return. If you are fine with that, go ahead. I won't stop you." Shu shrugged and signaled for his allied Genesis to step aside at the left side of the semicircle to allow them passage. They complied, though with unhappy expressions.

The rebels started grinning at that and a few tried to test the waters by going. The Genesis guards threw a look at their king to see if he wanted them to stop the traitors, but when he only shook his head at them, they felt themselves forced to stand their ground and let them pass. Once the rest of the rebels saw that, they immediately followed suit, allowing themselves to throw mocking grins the guards' way which were received with quite some annoyance from their end. Even the ones that had knelt before got up again and followed their brethren. But Malena only sighed at them, putting two fingers into her mouth, she whistled loudly to catch their attention and call them back with quite some frustration in her voice as she pointed at Shu with narrowed eyes.

"Haven't you forgotten something? That guy still holds your voids, remember? He will just kill you once you leave the hideout."

Realizing that, the traitors immediately frowned and slowly scuffed back, now getting the mocking grins thrown right back at them by the guards. It was as if they were saying: "What? Back so soon?"

"If you are worried about me crushing your voids, you don't have to worry about that. I won't." Shu eventually explained with indifference. A spark of interest appeared in the rebel leader's eyes. Standing next to the king and casually putting an arm on his shoulder, she asked with a smirk:

"Huuuh, then you certainly won't mind giving them back?"

"I will." He then replied, ignoring her rude behavior. His response only made her smirk grow wider as she held out her other hand expectantly, obviously waiting for her void to magically return into it.

"Well, then what are you waiting for?"

But that's when the king suddenly started returning her smirk right back at her, taking a hold of her hand and holding it in a firm grip.

"I don't see you kneeling yet."

She winced at his strong grip on her and asked with a growl: "The hell are you talking about?"

"If you want to get your voids back, you eventually will. After you have pledged loyalty to me and Inori and once we eventually get her back, that is. If you don't want to do that, you are free to leave, however, without your void. Well, what will it be? Rehabilitation or banishment?" She immediately broke free from his grip and regarded him with eyes colder than ice.

"You son of a…" She formed a fist with her right hand and attempted to hit him with it, but her friends merely stopped her before she could do something stupid.

"Come on, Malena. Forget it. Let's just leave. It's not worth it." They told her and tried to calm her down while throwing nervous glances at the guards that surrounded them. After she, too, had noticed the voids of Shu's guards being pointed at her, she eventually gave up on it. However, when her allies tried to drag her with them, she wouldn't budge. Instead, she remained where she was, biting down on her right thumb's nail in frustration.

"Damnit, Malena. Snap out of it and let's go before he changes his mind!" They kept nagging her,

"Haven't you guys realized?" She mumbled back at them, earning looks of confusion for her question, so she chose to elaborate. "Go where, exactly? To that blond guy in white that used us like Inori had? To the Mananites we have been fighting for five years, without the voids to even protect ourselves from them? To the soldiers that fight them? Why would they spare us? Just because we are voidless? How would they know the difference? And don't even get me started about leaving Tokyo without a void. We would never be able to break through the blockade. There is no place for us inside Tokyo and we can't leave it, either. No, we leave this _kingdom_ of his and we are as good as dead." She realized with nothing but bitterness and resignation as she eyed the king with hatred. He had them at his mercy and he knew it. Damn bastard. When she saw her friends' looks of horror as they slowly realized what she already had, she couldn't help but offer them a small laugh, though sounding more like she was laughing at herself rather than them. She had been a fool to not see it until now.

"What are you so surprised about? This is what we already knew. Queens are selfish assholes that abuse you, so why would their kings be any different? Whether it's through the use of raw strength like Mana, the brainwashing of a seemingly sweet queen like Inori or the merciless blackmail of her king, in the end, they always get what they want because they can…" She fell down to her knees with a deep sigh once she felt the strength in them leave her. Their fate seemed to have been hopeless quite from the start.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself that much, Malena, was it?" Shu eventually said as he crouched down next to her to reach her eye level. "Blackmail? Isn't this rather you guys being selfish? It was Eve who made you into Genesis and gave you all these fancy powers that came along with your increased senses and life span. The use of crystals and the right to use your own void were privileges given to you by her as a gift in exchange for your loyalty. Granted, it was a different Eve that had made you into Genesis, but that doesn't mean that you still don't owe her, right? But what have you done? You chose to take these privileges and use them to rebel against her, so why should you be allowed to keep them? All I am doing is giving you the chance to return to her kingdom or leave it forever. But if you leave it, you naturally lose your privileges. That's all there is to it. The reason you think this is blackmail is because you merely can't accept going back to the way it used to be. Being voidless and without crystals. It sucks, right? Well, that's the price you have to pay if independence is what you want. In theory, you would still have gained your stronger bodies and longer lifespan from the apocalypse, which in itself would already be an incredible net gain, but you all want more, don't you? If that's the case, come and live in our kingdom, but then you have to follow our rules. It's a simple choice, really. There is no blackmail going on. Only your selfishness that makes it appear as such."

"Big words…" The rebel leader said with a weak chuckle. "But in the end, you are holding our lives. You die with our voids in that arm of yours and we die as well."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "You think I have another choice? If I gave these back to you, you could just use them to fight against me and Inori again. I am not risking that. If you are so worried about your lives, join me again, help me get your queen back and in return I will reward you with the restoration of your privileges. Naturally, I will also tell Inori to not restrict your crystal access. I know she can do that. I have seen her do so in the void realm." It was true. He remembered Inori having given her guards the ability to let people pass through crystals or not, meaning she could simply deny certain people crystal usage. It should be easy to enforce his new law.

"Tch…forced to save a queen that betrayed us just to get our voids back…based on the last time we counted on her, I bet she would just kill us anyway after we would rescue her."

He sighed. "You know, for a woman sharp enough to notice the catch to my offer, you surprisingly are quite dull when it comes down to dealing with people. You were one of Inori's people, right? Back in the void realm, I mean."

She didn't say anything, but he saw her nod slowly. A couple other ones did so as well.

"Then tell me: Did you hate her back then?"

The brown haired woman frowned. "No, she was kind. A bit awkward and weird at times, but still a good person. I believed in what she said, which made it all the more unforgivable when she just abandoned us and left us at the mercy of Mana…what her soldiers did to us….I…" Shu noticed her clenching her fists as well as gritting her teeth in anger and contempt. Sympathy appeared in the king's eyes as he put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"As sorry I am to hear about your situation after we left without you, I am at least as surprised about the fact that you so readily assume Inori actually wanted that to happen. You said you believed in her, only to drop your beliefs so easily. Have you even tried finding out what had really happened?"

"What was there to find out? We revived. She was gone. So was everyone else. She abandoned us." She mumbled angrily.

"There is a reason behind every action. I am not saying she didn't leave you behind, but if you had at least tried talking to her, you would have realized that she was deeply saddened by that as well. That she had not wanted to do it. That it was me, who actually tried to make her understand that she couldn't save everyone, no matter how hard she tried."

The rebel leader's eyes suddenly snapped open once she ahd heard his words, only to have anger flash up inside them soon afterwards. "That's right…you weren't there when I died and the next moment I come to, everything is gone. It was you…"

Before anyone knew it, she grabbed the king by his collar, eying him furiously. "It was you! You have corrupted our queen in our absence! How could I be so blind!"

Shu blinked at her in surprise, but then smiled. "Hm, maybe I actually have. Who knows? But that doesn't matter anymore. You can hate me if you want to. That's fine, but in the end, I am the one who will save Inori and if you ever want to ask her what really happened that day, maybe even ask for forgiveness, then I am your best bet to do it. So, what's your choice? Will you join me and save your queen? Or abandon her and leave?"

"…would she even listen to what I have to say, I wonder…?" She asked herself as she looked down in sadness.

"You have probably served her longer than I have even spent time with her, so you tell me." Shu asked her honestly. To tell you the truth, he had trouble seeing Inori do anything but welcome her former followers back with wide open arms. If they would ask for forgiveness, she would be the one to ask for theirs instead, undoubtedly feeling responsible for the whole mess in the first place. That's just who she was.

The hallway was plunged in silence as everyone awaited her answer. She was seen biting down on her lower lip, obviously troubled about the king's offer, but eventually assumed a proper kneeling position, lowered gaze and all, and said:

"I want to talk to Inori one more time and find out the truth. In order to do so, please allow me to serve you, my king."

"M-Malena, what are you doing?" Her friends didn't hesitate to gasp and yell in surprise about her sudden surrender. "Didn't we agree that kings and queens are bad news? Raise your head!"

"Shut up! Maybe I am getting deceived again, but if this man speaks the truth, I wanna find out about it. If it turns out I really did do Inori injustice, I want to formerly apologize. If not, I will at least live to fight another day. All is better than dying a meaningless dog's death out there. If you want to leave, do so on your own!" She yelled back at them, not raising her head again.

"No way, if even Malena gives up, then what good can we do on our own?"

"Maybe she is right?"

"Screw this, I am out of here. I know someone who lived in Tokyo when I died. I will see if he is still around."

And like this, the rebel group slowly fell apart with the majority following their leader and kneeling in front of Shu and a couple others deciding to leave, getting shown out by two of the once ten Genesis that originally had come with Shu. He made sure he would remember all of their names so that he could get Inori to revoke their crystal usage rights later and told them that they were to never return again or they would get killed. Shu would also not come and help them even if they begged him to, but they just waved his words off and left anyway, to which the king merely shrugged. Things were fine as long as they understood. If they wanted to live without kings and queens, he would let them. They weren't his responsibility anymore.

"Alright, with this, it's decided. You have chosen to get another chance and try to get reintegrated into this kingdom and I will gladly grant you this chance. From today on, you will work hard to help me get Inori back and once we succeed, I will return your voids to you. It's a promise, though you won't get another chance if you decide to rebel again. If you rise up against us one more time, it's the death penalty, got it? If you change your mind, you are free to leave peacefully anytime you want, but you will never be allowed to return. If you understand that, answer me."

"Yes…" The former rebels mumbled in more or less unison, much to the king's displeasure, as was indicated by his narrowed down eyes.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes, sir!" They yelled now, loud and clear.

"I am not your sir. I am your king. Try again."

"Yes, your majesty!" They were seen gritting their teeth in annoyance now, but Shu ignored it. No one said he would make it easy for them.

"Malena." He called out to their leader who immediately raised her head. She wasn't able to hide the annoyed look on her face, but still replied with respect:

"Yes?"

"Since I heard you are partially to blame for Juan's betrayal and since you were the leader before, you will be responsible for this bunch from now on as well. If they misbehave, you keep them in line. If it gets too much for you, you report directly to Jun. If he catches you not supervising your underlings properly, there will be consequences. Every unreported misdeed they cause will be blamed on you for the duration of your punishment. The road to rehabilitation won't be an easy one, but I expect you to try hard anyway. Do you understand…?"

"Yes, my king."

"Good." The king smiled in satisfaction and turned around halfway to face his strategist friend.

"Yahiro, please go and find them something to help out with in the hideout. Make sure they are always in sight of some Genesis to watch them."

The brunette man raised a brow at that. "Isn't that a task more suited for my brother?"

That was when Shu put a hand on Jun's shoulder and grinned at him. "I have a more important job for him right now. You feeling up for this?"

The royal vizier couldn't help but eye his king with slight nervousness and asked: "Me? Really?" But when he merely saw Shu nod at him with a smile, Jun immediately returned the gesture with confidence and replied: "Leave it to me, my king!"

"Then it's decided. Oh, one more thing." He turned around to the Genesis guards again. "I know you don't like these former rebels all that much, but these guys are under my protection for the duration of their sentence. You are not to harm them without reason. I hope I can trust you with that?"

The Genesis offered him a respectful bow and nodded. "If that's what you want, we will do so."

"Excellent. I will make sure you will only have to bear with it for a little while. I don't intend to make Inori wait for long." He offered them a reassuring smile. His words visibly lifted the guards' spirits, seeing as to how they gave him a short cheer in return, followed to leave with the former prisoners. Yahiro sighed at them as he slowly trotted after them with one hand in his jacket's pocket and using the other one to wave his friends a small good-bye without turning around to them as if to say: "See you guys later." And just like that, they were gone.

It was the day the king broke the Queenbreakers. Not like there was much to break in the first place, but…it was a start.

"Alright. With that finally sorted out, next stop would be Tsugumi's. I am sure she must have finished working on what I have asked her to do yesterday." Shu explained to his friends afterwards while leading the way, only to earn confused faces from them in return.

"You told her to do something? What is it?" Ayase asked him with curiosity.

"We are gonna expose the SDF to the public, no? We will need some material to proof our claims to do that, don't we?" The brunette man replied with a soft chuckle.

"I've meant to ask for a while, but…how do you intend to expose the SDF exactly, Shu?" Jun wondered and scratched the back of his head in puzzlement. If Shu chose the way of the internet, no one would ever take him seriously, just like with the other dudes on that message board he had shown them earlier. At best, he would get called a troll and be ignored afterwards. They needed something better.

"We are gonna make a TV broadcast, of course."

"You make it sound easy…" Hare replied with genuine surprise.

"That's because it is. We have Tsugumi and Jun, after all. Should be a piece of cake." The king only smirked back at her. Jun, however, wasn't as confident as him.

"I don't exactly know how I could help with that, though…"

"What's this supposed to mean, huh?" They suddenly heard a certain dark haired hacker's teasing voice. The group was mildly surprised to see her here, leaning against a wall and waiting for them in front of her communications office. She pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the younger Samukawa brother, putting both arms on her hips and leaning forward, grinning at him with eyes narrowed down in mischief.

"Do you mean to tell me you _didn't_ somehow hijack that SDF jet yesterday?"

That's when something inside the brunette's head clicked. With his mood suddenly improving drastically, he enthusiastically exclaimed: "Oh! My void! Of course! What are we waiting for, let's do this!" Everyone just snickered and watched him in amusement as he grabbed Tsugumi by her arm eagerly to drag her into her office with her totally unable to resist his strength.

"Woah, wait. Let me go, I can walk myself!" She tried to object. To no avail. Jun wasn't even listening to her as he marched forward while humming an upbeat tone. Someone was certainly feeling good about this. It reminded Shu of a kid eager to visit an amusement park. There was that certain gleam in the younger man's eyes as well. Once those two had entered Tsugumi's domain, the others followed suit.

As they entered the medium sized room with all its machines and cables lying around everywhere, illuminated by nothing but the artificial sheen of holo screens and LEDs, the king noticed Tsugumi who was already busy pushing virtual buttons and dragging around various symbols across her spherical screen, looking as if she had as much fun as ever. Her momentarily irritation about Jun's earlier pushiness seemed to have vanished completely and Shu could very well imagine why. When he had told her yesterday that Jun's void had managed to somehow manipulate an SDF fighter jet, she had grabbed him by his shoulders and shaken him up with wide eyes, asking him many questions about the hows and whens. Naturally, she hadn't had a clue that something like that had even occurred due to her unfortunate state of unconsciousness at the time.

And thus, being the curious young woman she eventually was, she had pretty much _insisted_ for Jun to help her out, even though she hadn't been modest enough to hide the fact that she could have performed every technical task on her own without problem. Some serious effort had been spent to clarify that she was merely interested in the way his void worked and nothing more. Shu had only laughed then, not really caring to find out whether that had been true or not, and had simply agreed to her plans since he himself had wanted to know more about Jun's void as well.

Speaking of which, the man of the hour just kept watching her nervously, feeling slightly lost in that technological jungle that surrounded him. He might have started getting first doubts about all this, Shu realized. He wondered if Jun thought he might be turned into a guinea pig or something. But alas, it was time to get this show started, and so he sought to start a conversation with the dark haired hacker in front of them.

"So, does that mean you got what we talked about yesterday, Tsugumi?"

"Just who the hell do you think I am?" She replied with a proud smirk and raised her chin with closed eyes. "I got everything you wanted and more. The stuff was just lying around on their computers as if they had _wanted_ me to take it. Seriously, it was as easy as taking candy from a baby." Her words were accompanied by her reaching out into the air, followed by grabbing something invisible in front of her and pulling it towards her chest with a big grin. Piece of cake.

"Excellent, so all that's left is for Jun to get us access to a broadcasting station, right?" Shu said, visibly pleased by their progress. Tsugumi nodded at that.

Shu had barely finished talking when Jun had already unleashed his void, causing him to stand with the glowing smartphone in his hand, ready for action. He performed an exaggerated bow in front of his audience and smirked.

"Thanks for coming, everyone. I am happy to see you all are so eager to watch a display of this mere vassal's magnificent power." He chuckled with closed eyes and pushed back his hair with his free hand confidently while making an elegant pose.

"This guy pisses me off for some reason…" Ayase mumbled next to Shu and with folded arms. She kept tipping her own arm with her right index finger in an impatient and irritated fashion. The king didn't reply to that and only chose to scratch his cheek while laughing awkwardly. He sort of understood what she meant. Was Jun going through a serious case of eight grader syndrome right now? Hare for her part only kept applauding and silently cheering Jun on, happy to grant him that small moment to shine. She knew he deserved it.

Tsugumi merely rolled her eyes on him and informed him: "Ready when you are, Samukawa Junior."

"Right." He replied with a smile. "So without further ado, let us see for ourselves the greatness of my void. Behold!" He raised his void confidently into the air and waited. However, the seconds passed without anything of relevance happening. Meanwhile, the eyes of everyone else rested on him. It was dead silent in the room, with only Shu uttering a slight dry cough. That was the moment Jun grew more and more nervous with sweat starting to run down the back of his neck as his smile crumbled into a crooked grimace. He lowered the void again and started pressing on its unresponsive touch screen repeatedly, waving it around in a slight panic. When still nothing happened afterwards, he turned around and held it close to his face, whispering: "Come on, don't leave me hanging here. I need you to help me make that TV broadcast pronto." He certainly didn't want to give up this easily now that he had actually made such a big deal out of it. He could already see Ayase's evil smirk and hear Tsugumi's teasing laughter in his head. How uncool would that make him look? He had to make this work!

To everyone's surprise, the smartphone void in his hands suddenly awoke to life. On its screen, letters rapidly appeared, saying:

_User Problem received: "I need you to help me make that TV broadcast pronto."_

_Attempting to find solution, please wait…..Error: Insufficient data present in database_

_Cannot proceed without further information. Attempting to gather required data._

_Multiple Wi-Fi-signals detected_

_Checking strongest signal…done_

_Connecting to Router (SSID: Anonyan)…..done_

_Collecting data….done_

_Solution: Access to broadcasting satellites needed. Proceed?_

Jun just kept staring at the screen of his void in bafflement for the entire duration of its work. His friends had found their way behind him in the meantime, looking over his shoulder, apparently equally impressed.

"It's doing everything on its own. Amazing." Ayase realized.

"And at an incredible pace, too. I could barely keep up with reading what it says." Hare admitted while looking slightly confused about the words on the display.

"It even bypassed every bit of security I installed. It connected to the internet without even asking for the password…" Tsugumi mumbled with a mixture of amazement and irritation. Part of her probably felt hurt that her system had been breached this easily, without even the slightest bit of resistance. She went over to her devices and appeared to check a few things, only to narrow her eyes at what she saw. "He's a ghost, too. He didn't even appear in the logs. Scary stuff."

"That's good, right?" Jun asked her expectantly, not really knowing all that much about hacking and all the technical stuff around it. She only sighed at him.

"It's not just good. It's incredibly good. Your void leaves no trail behind at all, meaning the hacked side will not even realized it has been hacked until you start messing around too much and even then will they be unable to catch you, simply because there is no trail left to trace back to you. It's basically what every hacker would like to have. I think it wouldn't even be farfetched to say you could even conquer the world with it, given how it is relying so much on digital means these days. At the very least, you could create some serious chaos with it, if you wanted to." Then she smirked. "I want it."

"Yikes." Jun took a step back and hid the void away from her. "Let's not do that, alright?"

"Aww, come on. It will be fun!" Tsugumi protested and tried to grab his void be reaching around him, to which he merely responded by pushing her back gently with one hand, looking troubled.

"As a man who believes in order, I will not tolerate anarchy."

"Well, we might want to have a little bit of anarchy right now, though." Shu suddenly said and made an indication of what he thought was "a little" by lifting his right thumb and index finger and only leaving a small gap in between them. Jun quickly remembered their original plan and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh, right. Well, as long as it's just a little bit, I suppose we would be fine."

Tsugumi smirked at him with narrowed eyes. "Hypocrite."

He gave her a slight push in annoyance and grumbled: "Shut up." He then looked at his void's screen once more and pressed the "Yes" button on it to proceed with their plan. The void quickly awoke back to life again.

_Reading GPS signals to pinpoint current location….done_

_Searching for nearest satellite uplink…done_

_Connecting to "Fuji Tokyo SNG" …..ERROR: failed to connect. Uplink OFFLINE_

_Searching for alternative…..done_

_Connecting to "WARD TOKYO DSNG"…..done_

_Establishing connection to WTSAT2…..done_

_Connection established. Welcome, Samukawa jun._

"Looks like we are in." Jun informed everyone proudly and earned various gestures of approval from everyone around. Shu patted him on the shoulder, Hare cheered, Tsugumi ruffled his hair cheekily and Ayase offered him a bit of applause, though not without voicing some slight concern.

"You know, that was surprisingly easy. "

But Tsugumi only shrugged at that. "Not really. I mean, it was easier than what I would have had to do, but in essence, it would have been the same way if I had done it, only that it would have taken a little longer." She grinned at Jun afterwards and sighed theatrically. "I guess I will have to look for a new job, then."

But the younger Samukawa sibling was quick to wave his hands in front of him in disagreement. "No, no, no. I have enough work on my plate as it is. You can keep doing this stuff, really. In fact, please do."

She sighed at that, followed by shrugging. "Your void is so wasted on you, you know?"

"Isn't it rather that the world is lucky that someone like Jun got that void instead of you, Tsugumi?" Hare asked while giggling in amusement, only to earn a playful smirk from the hacker in return as she winked and stuck out her tongue at her.

"I would make the world a better place for sure. That's all I am gonna say to that."

"Sure you are…" Ayase eyed her best friend with a knowing smirk. The girl in question quickly turned away and leaned her head back against her arms, feeling as if she was being seen through. How troublesome.

"Well, shall we get this party started?" The king eventually asked, feeling very good about all this. Everything was going smoothly so far. The rest should, too.

"Sure, let me just set up Funell real quick and…" Tsugumi replied to him eagerly, only to see said robot already driving her by and circling Jun happily, who merely smiled at her innocently.

"Already done."

That was the moment everyone just saw Tsugumi look at him in utter disbelief, followed by something inside her snapping. Like a furious feline, she jumped him, proceeding to bite and scratch that poor man while yelling stuff like "Hands off my baby!" and "If I find a single bug in his source code after this, I will kill you!"

The gang just stood at the side lines and laughed as they watched Jun trying to protect himself against her onslaught. No one was surprised about Tsugumi's antics. Eventually though, her frenzy could only be stopped by Funell, of all things, as he chose to protect his new temporary master by subduing his creator via cable. The poor girl could do nothing but sit in a corner grumpily afterwards, grumbling to herself about how she would get Jun back for this someday. Shu found this whole situation to be utterly hilarious, but since they were on a tight schedule, he merely walked over to her after a few minutes and, after confirming that she had calmed down, released her of her restraints so that things could finally proceed into the next phase.

Tsugumi got up and gave him a confident nod. "Let's do this."

She sent a dark glare into Jun's direction for a second as if to say: "I am watching you.", but then let it go. With an aura of professionalism you would normally not expect from this mischievous girl unless you knew her better, she merely resumed her post at her console and prepared the data she had collected earlier. Oddly enough, she managed to work together with Jun without further incidents after that. Shu could only nod at this contently. It was good that everybody was getting along.

He had assumed Tsugumi would be a bit angrier with Jun. Not necessarily because of the Funell incident, but rather because her pride didn't allow anyone else to be better at her job. And let's face it, Jun pretty much could replace her at this point if he really wanted to. That's why he had secretly been a bit worried about all this, but apparently, all it had taken Tsugumi to accept this had been blowing off a bit of steam in order to return to her old self. The fact that Jun didn't plan to take her spot in the first place probably helped, too.

He caught himself sighing as he watched them work. How easy life would have been for him and Inori, no, for everybody in this base as a whole, had Genesis and humans gotten along like this right from the start. No unnecessary quarrels, no rebellion…Argo would have still been here. Juan, too. Nobody would have died and Inori would still be with him. Everything could have been so much better right now. He frowned.

Except it wasn't. Everything that could have gone wrong had done so and it was utterly stupid to waste time thinking about this now that it couldn't be changed anymore. Somewhere deep down, he asked himself if he could have prevented any of this had he accepted and taken kingship more seriously form the very beginning, but ultimately that, too, was a pointless thought. He couldn't change the past. All he could affect was the future. In the end, he shook his head to get rid of these stupid sentiments. That was the same time Tsugumi turned around to him with a smirk that radiated eagerness to proceed with their plan. Jun merely smiled approvingly next to her.

"We've finished the preparations, Shu. Ready when you are."

He replied with a determined smirk of his own. Whether he was ready? Perhaps he hadn't been in the past. But now? He always would be ready from now on. Whatever it would take to keep those close to him safe, he would do it.

"Let's get this party started."

-GC-

At the same time, over at Narita Aiport, Iwamoto was having another meeting with Lieutenant Takarata. Sitting in front of his desk, he stared down the man in front of him while leaning forward on the bridge his both hands formed in front of him. The mood was very grim, as if the general's dark expression had begun oozing into their surroundings. Takarata caught himself gulping when he noticed that his superior was about to speak.

"So, how bad is it?" He wanted to know. Takarate quickly took out a sheet of paper and began reading it.

"Of all the people who claimed to be dead Japanese come back to life, everyone was confirmed to be utterly legit. Both, their story as well as the stories of the relatives we questioned separately, showed no discrepancies and every DNA sample we took from them more or less matched the data we had of them. While not completely identical due to their 'rebirth', as they call it, there appear to still be enough similarities to confirm their identity. At the very least, the scientists confirm that no human being on this planet should have the technology to fake this somehow."

After listening to his explanation, the general sighed deeply and closed his eyes, contemplating his next move with folded arms. It was quiet for quite some time, which eventually caused the lieutenant to nervously add:

"I have already made preparations for the prisoners to be released. All you need to do is give the order."

"So the dead have come back to life, huh…" Iwamoto ignored him. "Looks like the apocalypse really is upon us, doesn't it?"

"Yes. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing, does it?" Takarata said with a smile.

"How can this be anything but bad, lieutenant?" The general asked him sternly before getting up from his seat, turning around and walking up to the glass wall behind him, overlooking the city as he stood there with hands folded behind his back.

"This is a catastrophe…"

"How so, sir? Won't the people be happy to have their loved ones back?"

"Think about it for a bit before you speak, Takarata. We have fought and imprisoned these people. Many have died, others were experimented upon and while those experiments may have stopped, if the public were to ever find out about this, the city will fall into chaos. Foolish people who lack the mental capabilities will get fooled by their emotions and blame us for hurting their loved ones, never realizing that it had been them who had attacked first. It will be us who will look like terrorists."

Takarata couldn't help but frown at the general's words, obviously not agreeing with his views.

"While it is undeniable that these people had been a bit… _wild_ upon their sudden reappearance, I wouldn't say it was them who had necessarily attacked anyone first. The reports suggest that there had been shots fired by them, but upon closer investigation, they had just shot into the sky and run around in a cheering fashion. What people had thought was an attack might have just been misinterpreted as a very clumsy and slightly dangerous celebration or parade. There had been a few hostile ones, but the majority seemed to be pretty harmless. The way I see it, they had just been happy to be back. Until the military pointed weapons at them."

Iwamoto turned around to his subordinate angrily.

"What's with this apologetic attitude, Takarata? Are you seriously blaming our actions for all of this? You must have these eyes for show then, because you obviously couldn't see what I saw. These monsters were and are a danger to the people and they cannot be allowed to roam around freely. At the very least, they need to be put into prison first."

"With all due respect, sir, but I highly disagree. After talking with quite a few of them, I can say with absolute confidence, that they are people like you and I who were merely overwhelmed with the current events. Their revival and new powers had made them enter a temporary state of excitement for which the majority have already shown regret and offered their apologies. Some even going as far as to prostrate themselves in shame. To treat these people as criminals would be wrong. Both sides have made mistakes here. We should try to find a middle ground to bring an end to this meaningless conflict."

Once he heard that, Iwamoto merely chuckled at him while offering him a mocking grin. "Well, would you look at that. A lieutenant who thinks he would make a good judge. What's next, Takarata? Are we going to free murderers and rapists, too, after they merely say that they were sorry and make a quick bow?"

The brunette man closed his eyes in shame as he tried to hide the embarrassment on his face. He knew the general would oppose him, but hearing him word his suggestion like that sure made it sound ridiculous. Still, he didn't want to give up.

"I am not saying that every one of them is innocent, but I am convinced that the majority are and should be released. After all, you don't arrest a whole lot of people just because a small group among them has started misbehaving, right? Besides, there are quite a few underage people among them as well."

Iwamoto raised a brow at that. "So I should risk the lives of every citizen in Tokyo because you deem them to be harmless? We are talking about a group of people who stood against the SDF's _trained_ soldiers and won _three_ times. These people are monsters. And you want to sic them on the population. Lieutenant Takaraka, are you out of your damn mind?"

"Are you?" The lieutenant then decided to stand his ground and counter the piercing glare of the general with one of his own while readjusting his glasses. "These people you call monsters are confirmed to be Japanese citizens by not only me, but various scientist. You cannot deny that fact. Fighting them any longer will mean we are pointing guns at _our_ people. Rather than calling them monsters, shouldn't we be protecting them?"

Iwamoto was quiet for a second, obviously thinking about something, but when Takara thought he had dealt a decisive blow, his confidence got crushed by the general merely smiling at him with narrowed eyes.

"I see. I finally understand what this is about. Your sister is among them, right? You can't come to terms with the fact that she is an enemy."

This obviously caught Takarata by surprise as was clearly evident by him gasping from shock and taking a step back. "Yo-you are wrong!" He tried to deny it, but he fooled no one.

"Poor Takarata. Caught between the lines of duty and family. And now you don't know what to do, so you make up excuses to warrant not having to fight either side. You are pathetic, Takarata. If you want to sacrifice the population of Tokyo just to save your criminal sister, then at least be honest about it instead of shrouding it into beautiful lies. You don't actually care about these people, do you? You just want to save your family's skin." Iwamoto yelled the last bit accusingly while moving his hand through the air angrily as if to smack away what he believed to be the lieutenant's false concern. The latter was seen clenching his fists and gritting his teeth in absolute anger, but somehow managed to reply in a calm voice:

"It must be nice. To write off the attempted slaughter of countless Japanese as merely fulfilling one's duty. I am not claiming to be entirely in the right here, but neither are you, General. You may view these people as criminals, but I _know_ my sister. She always was quite the tomboy and could get a bit feisty if angered, but in the end, she always was a nice and good-hearted girl deep down. Heck, she was a girl who would bring an injured bird back home to treat it until it was well again. And now I am to believe the same girl would willingly become a warmonger? I am not buying it. And if someone like her was somehow drawn into this mess, then why shouldn't others be? There is more to this than you or I can see, General. Even if you refuse to believe it."

The two men locked gazes and it was silent again for a short while before Iwamoto closed his eyes in disdain and turned around again, facing the wall of windows from before.

"You are a smart man, Takarata. I acknowledge that. But you are also young. Naïve. You refuse to see what you don't want to see and that is your weakness. I want you to take a short break and collect your thoughts. I am sure that you will understand the flaw in your thinking if you are able to cool down that head of yours for a bit. We can continue this conversation then."

"So what about the prisoners?" Takarata wanted to know.

"Nothing changes for now. I am not yet convinced that releasing them is the right course of action. Even if they are the dead come back to life. It is yet to be proven if they are indeed as harmless as you claim them to be."

"Then shouldn't we at least-"

Takarata wasn't able to finish his sentence as the door to the room suddenly burst open to reveal one of his colleagues of the same rank as him hastily running towards them. It was the one with the longer, black hair and the eye patch. Lieutenant Toshio Koruba. He came to a halt in front of them, still with an expression of urgency and shock plastered on his face.

"I am terrible sorry to disturb, sir, but you have to see this!" He claimed, slightly out of breath which already told stories about the urgency of the news he was undoubtedly about to deliver to them. He went over to the small pillar in the middle of the room, barely half the size of a grown human being, and pressed a button. Several lights on it awoke to life soon afterwards, creating a huge holographic projection of a TV screen for them to look at. It showed nothing but a static image of black with the symbol of a certain brunette king's power put over it in a red color. Two animated pictures of cutesy comic-styled animals were seen on the left upper corner of the screen as well as the right lower one. Their animation consisted of merely two frames in which they were merely seen tilting their heads from one side to the other. The upper left animal appeared to be a brown doggy with lazy eyes and a mouth in the shape of a sideways faced '3' while the other one was a black kitten with mischievous eyes and a triangle shaped mouth., the pointy end facing upwards. The current time was shown in the center of the screen. It was 11:58. Two minutes before noon.

"What's this…?" Iwamoto asked the newcomer in confusion while raising a brow at the picture he saw. Likewise, Takarata shared a similar expression.

"This just has started getting broadcasted on every channel. Look." Koruba decided to show proof by trying to switch the channel, only to have the screen always show the same, slightly animated picture. Now the general was seen frowning. This was certainly odd. What did this mean?

"Please stand by for a public service announcement from King Ouma Shu at 12:00." A male voice could be heard, apparently supposed to be the doggy's voice, seeing as to how the animation for it slightly changed as soon as it spoke. The three men had no way of knowing that it was Jun's cheerful voice informing them of that fact.

"Don't you dare turn off your TV, got it?" The kitty then added in Tsugumi's cheeky voice.

"King?" Takarata couldn't help but ask out aloud with a raised brow. Iwamoto then took a seat in front of his desk.

"The kid must have finally lost it." He turned his attention towards Lieutenant Koruba. "Where is the signal coming from?

"That's the thing, sir." The man in question replied nervously. "We are already in the process of talking to several broadcasting stations, but they all claim to have no idea how that could have happened. There are no signs of a hacker attack at all, yet their systems won't react at all to anything they try to do to fix the situation. There is no trace of the hacker anywhere."

Iwamoto grumbled, obviously not happy to hear that. "Are they covering for the terrorists?"

Takarata only shook his head in disbelief. "Every single one of them? I find that to be unlikely."

"Well, it's noon soon, so let's hear what this 'PSA' is all about now, shall we?" Iwamoto said while folding his arms and leaning back against the back of his chair. Both lieutenants took their positions to either of his side to wait for the broadcast to commence. Soon enough, the counter went from 11:59 to 12:00 and the image changed.

What appeared was a picture of Shu smiling into the camera. It was positioned on a rather low angle, which caused him to kneel rather casually so that he wouldn't take up too much of the screen. Behind him, quite a bunch of people could be seen standing, including familiar faces such as Hare, Jun, Yahiro and Co. There were so many, that it simply became impossible to fit them all on screen. Then he began speaking.

"Greetings, people of Japan. Sorry to disturb, but I thought I should give you an update on our current situation since the government sure won't." He started his speech, still smiling. It eventually faded, though, getting replaced by a serious expression.

"I don't think I need to tell you who I am as I am pretty sure you already know one way or another. I am not having this broadcast to tell you what you already know, but rather what you don't. Which is that the government is lying to you."

Iwamoto raised a brow at that and threw a glance at the men besides him, silently asking them: "Do you know what he is talking about?" However, he got nothing but helpless shrugs from them in return.

Shu gave off a small, derisive chuckle. "I know what you are thinking. I am a terrorist, so of course I would claim the government is lying, right? Except I have proof." A confident smirk appeared on his lips. Iwamoto began stroking his bearded chin in curiosity.

"The SDF sealed off Tokyo to keep the so called 'terrorists' at bay in loop seven." The index and middle fingers of both his hands were raised to put the word "terrorist" into quotes. "What the SDF failed to tell you so far, though, is that the people they claim to be terrorists are actually people you might be very familiar with. Let us take a short moment to remember the events of 5 years ago, when the apocalypse virus threatened to ravage the world. It was a day on which we all undoubtedly lost someone precious to us one way or another. A friend, a parent, a brother, a lover. I am sure we all are looking back to that day with sadness, mourning the loss of our loved ones. I, myself, was no exception." He offered the audience a look of sadness and empathy, yet only for a short while before a kind smile appeared back on his lips. "But it turns out we were wrong all along."

"So he is aware as well…" Takarata realized. Iwamoto, for his part, could only grumble at that revelation.

"I don't like where this is going…"

"The people we thought were lost forever were not actually dead, but merely stuck in a state between life and death. It is actually a bit more complicated than that, but let me spare you the details. The thing you need to know is that there is a chance that the people you have lost that day came back to life. And these people are the ones the SDF is fighting against."

General Iwamoto immediately stood up upon hearing this, finally realizing what Shu wanted to do here. He slammed both his hands on the desk in front of him as he leaned on it, starring at the screen in contempt.

"That rotten son of a-" He was heard mumbling.

But Shu only smiled back to him, completely oblivious to the man's outburst. Instead of reacting, he naturally continued with the broadcast with a smirk.

"I know you won't believe my words so easily. I am aware it must sound crazy, but as I said. I have proof. Tons of it, actually. Let me show you something real quick." The brunette terrorist leader went off-screen for a short while, only to reappear while dragging a certain black haired scientist on the stage with him.

"I am sure you all are familiar with this man here as well. He might look a bit younger than you might have remembered him, but don't let such small details bother you. Say hello, Shuichiro Keido." He spoke into the camera with a grin while patting his step uncle on the shoulder. The man in question didn't look very amused but decided to comply. Although with eyes closed due to annoyance.

"Greetings. To make this short: Everything the brat just said is true. And while not every casualty of the fourth apocalypse, or previous to that, will have found its way back to life, it is an undeniable fact that a lot of them have survived the process of evolution and have come back." Keido threw a glance at Shu as if to ask: "Are we done here?" to which he quickly received a response.

"Thank you, Keido." The king returned his attention back to the camera with a playful grin. "By the way, just to make sure: This isn't edited in any way. No greenscreens. No CGI. This guy here is the real deal. In the flesh and blood." He proceeded to prove his point by pinching Keido's cheek and slightly pulling at it, to which the man responded by lifting his right foot angrily in an attempt to stomp the younger man's left one angrily.

"Cut the crap!" He grumbled and his foot fell down. The king, however, anticipating such an action, merely stepped away and let the Genesis' foot crash down on the concrete floor. The camera shook for a moment and a loud sound echoed through the surrounding, but when the picture became stable again, Keido's foot was standing in a mini-crater with several cracks going out from the center of it. The damage wasn't big, but certainly nothing you would have expected from a normal human being's mere stomp.

While the audience was supposed to be shocked about this display of raw strength, Shu used the opportunity to whisper to Keido quietly enough so that no one but him would hear with an apologetic grin:

"Sorry about that. That hurt, didn't it?"

"Shut up…" Keido was seen pressing his eyelids close in an attempt to ignore the throbbing pain of his leg, not moving even a single inch to avoid giving away the sorry state he was in right now. He certainly had no desire to add any more shame to his name than Shu had already done. Secretly, he cursed at himself for having been such a fool. To get tempted by this brat to do something this irresponsible…he himself had known better than no one that a Genesis' strength didn't mean that they were immune to pain. You could theoretically hit harder, but the drawback would be more severe as well. There were two sides to every coin, after all.

Shu could only offer him a small laugh before turning around and facing the audience again.

"As you can see, I am telling you the honest truth and more. If you have paid any attention to Keido's words, you will have noticed that the word "Evolution" has come up. That's basically what the apocalypse virus is about. Its victims die and are forced to undergo evolution. If they survive the process, they become like Keido over here. Stronger. Smarter. Simply better. However, if they don't, they simply die. Keido over there is one of the many lucky ones who made it through the harsh journey of evolution and became what we call a Genesis. I did, too. And so did every single one of these so called "void freaks" of Loop seven. I hope you understand what that means." The king's expression became dark once he reached the end of his explanation. Ice cold reddish brown eyes staring right into the soul of whoever was watching the broadcast. Then, an evil smirk appeared.

"That's right. The people you have lost to the apocalypse virus, whoever might have been able to come back to life, are actively being hunted and killed by the people who claim to "protect" you all. Three whole large scale operations dedicated to the _slaughter_ of our loved ones." Images and data of the SDF's last three offensives on loop seven were displayed in an overlay as Shu spoke. "Over two weeks of being perched together into a quarantine area against their will and with the general population none the wiser." Images of the quarantine area were shown, occasionally being overlaid with pictures of the incident from five years ago under the supervision of GHQ, all while Shu continued to speak.

"Doesn't this sound pretty familiar to you all?" He asked, smirking again as he raised both his hands to each of his sides. "Five years ago, I fought an evil organization that claimed to do the very same thing the SDF does today, but tell me, has anything really changed? The G, the H and the Q might have swapped placed with an S, D and an F, but even with the new name, the organization behind it is still not a single bit better than the previous one. You all are fooled once more to accept and welcome another wolf in sheep's clothing." On screen, the SDF logo appeared, with a flickering image of the old GHQ logo added on top of it.

"We are all meant to fall into that trap. Listen to their lies. Make history repeat itself. But I won't stand for that. I will take those people down just like I did with GHQ and if I get called a terrorist for that, so be it. I know I am not the bad guy here, the question is, do you all? My friends and I have prepared a certain homepage for you all to visit." A link flashed up on the bottom of the screen for the viewer to see. "On it, you will find all the data we managed to collect on the SDF. A list of names from captured "terrorists", in-depth reports from researchers and officers regarding their evolved state and even footage of their interrogations and the experimentations done to them. I am not making this up. View those files at your own discretion. Note, though, that they are all unmodified and taken directly from their servers. We didn't make any of this up, which makes the contents of those files all the more…disturbing. I doubt you will still view the SDF and the government in the same light as you did before after you have watched even a single video. Without doubt, you will notice at least one thing:"

He closed his eyes and made a short pause before opening them again, looking straight into the camera.

"They knew. And they didn't tell anyone. You will have to ask yourself: Is that the kind of government you want to follow?" He frowned. "I refuse. From today on, I hereby announce the establishment of my very own kingdom, and declare its independence from Japan. Its current borders are the outer quarantine walls, so in other words: I will be taking ownership of Tokyo as of now. The system of government will be a monarchy with me as its king. This will be a free country under my leadership made for Genesis and humans to coexist with each other in peace." A world map was shown for a short while, zooming in on Asia, then Japan and once more onto the Kanto region in which the Tokyo prefecture got highlighted and excluded from the rest of Japan. The territory was then labeled as "Eden".

"You may like it or not, I simply do not care. Police and SDF have no longer any authority in this area and will be asked to peacefully surrender. Resistance will provoke heavy opposition from our side while those who stay peaceful will not be harmed. The people of Tokyo have but three options:" The king was seen lifting three fingers, followed by lowering two again to start with his index finger as he counted upwards.

"One: Stay out of this whole mess. This will have no consequences for you whatsoever. Two: Side with the SDF and hope for their protection. This might cause you harm if you happen to get caught in the crossfire. I do not recommend that choice. Three: Rise up with me and fight the oppression. Show the government the power of the people by making an example. Help me free your resurrected family and friends. You can even come and seek my protection afterwards or stick with the first option, if you so please. That is all."

He took a few steps back and pointed at himself with his right thumb. "Remember this, Japan. I am King Ouma Shu." He lifted both arms to each of his sides to show off the people standing behind him with a smirk. "These are my people, living in the country of Eden. If you don't like that, come and get me." Every one of his followers behind him was seen either unlocking the safeties of their weapons or drawing their voids. The camera then zoomed in on Shu again for one last message which he delivered with utter confidence:

"And one more thing: Inori, if you can hear this, rest assured. We are coming."

Everyone then raised their arms and cheered as if to agree to the king's words. It was a sight that spread courage in the hearts of allies as well as fear in the hearts of enemies. This was nothing short but a declaration of war. And while the forces of Shu were in the middle of demonstrating their eagerness for battle, the broadcast eventually stopped, leaving their audience nothing but the eerily quiet picture they had seen before the broadcast had started, sans the two cutesy animals. The image began flickering shortly after and eventually got replaced by a flustered female news reporter who apologized for the temporary loss of control over their broadcasting systems. While she was about to start talking about the contents of Shu's broadcast, Iwamoto merely turned off the holo-screen wordlessly to make silence have its return in the grand room on the highest floor of the airport tower.

No one said a word afterwards as they stared at the spot the holo-screen had been only moments prior. It was almost as if none of them dared to speak. Takarata was obviously shocked, staring into nothingness with his mouth slightly agape. Koruba was using his portable computer to check the internet site Shu had provided them with while Iwamoto could only lean forward against the bridge his hands formed in front of him, eyes closed. Eventually, though, Takarata chose to break the silence.

"We are fucked, aren't we?"

"Everything is on that site, sir. Every report, every list. Even…this…" Koruba proceeded to show them footage of an interrogation room in which the third of Iwamoto's lieutenants was seen harshly trying to squeeze out information the victim didn't have. They were shocked to see him even resolve to torture. There was no doubt these images would stir up some trouble for them afterwards. The people would not take this lightly.

"The video appears to be recent. It looks like Lieutenant Sada never stopped his brutality against the prisoners and continued to have his way in secret. This is awful. How couldn't we have noticed?" He thought out aloud while gritting his teeth.

"He was prone to use violence on them from the very beginning. We should have known better." Takarata cursed silently. "Now that fool has doomed us all. If we ever had a chance to come clean with the public, it is gone now. No one would believe anything we said after seeing this video."

"Or any of the other things on that website, for that matter." Koruba added with a frown as he turned off his device and put it away in his bag.

"King Ouma Shu, huh…." Iwamoto muttered under his breath. Something about that brat had changed. He could clearly see it from that broadcast just now. This wasn't the same boy he had seen giving his awkward speech to the public five years ago when he had "saved" the world. Something must have happened. And whatever it had been, it had turned that brat into a cunning bastard. Iwamoto had barely even learned of the fact what these so called "Genesis" were and Shu had already used that to make him look as if he had known for ages and withheld the information on purpose. Well, he hadn't exactly planned on reaching out to the public immediately in the first place, but now whether he had wanted to or not didn't even matter anymore. It already looked like he was the villain and it would be incredibly difficult to wash his name clean again, maybe even impossible to begin with.

Now the cursed brat had really done it, Iwamoto thought. He had made his move and it had been a critical one. Recovery from that would certainly not be easy, but he wouldn't give up just like that. He may have underestimated the man that lead the enemy faction, but he certainly wouldn't admit defeat just yet. Ouma Shu may have been more clever and cunning than he would have given him credit for, but he was still a pompous fool, going as far as to even calling himself a king and founding his own nation, ironically one that was just as small as the Tokyo prefecture. What a joke. Iwamoto would have laughed if the situation hadn't looked as grim as it currently did.

"Find Sada and bring him to me. He has a few things to answer for. I want to hear what that man has to say to his defense…" He calmly decided and looked at Takarata who eagerly nodded, saluted and took off with a "Yes, sir!" Their previous conversation apparently already forgotten. They all had more pressing problems to deal with right now, after all.

"Koruba, I want you to get in touch with the public. We need to hold a press conference as soon as possible. I doubt we can calm the masses, but things will only get worse from now on if we don't even try to take a stance. I will leave it to you."

He saluted. "Understood. What will you be doing, sir?"

The general sighed. "Explain things." He looked at the phone on his desk expectantly, not the least bit surprised when a female voice came out of its speakers to announce that the prime minister had called and demanded to speak with Iwamoto immediately. Lieutenant Koruba could only wince at that announcement and nodded, immediately understanding what the general had meant. While Koruba would fend against the onslaught of news reporters, his superior would do the same against the fury of the head of the state. He didn't envy Iwamoto one bit, to be honest. There was no doubt that they were all in some deep shit right now. Thinking that, he silently left the room, leaving the general to himself.

Said man massaged his temples and sighed before pressing a button on his phone and told his secretary:

"I am ready. Put him on."

What a shitty day.

He couldn't wait to get Ouma Shu back for this. He definitely would. There was no way Iwamoto would let that deceiving man fool the people of Japan any further. His shameless lies would eventually get exposed. That man was no savior. Just a criminal that was slightly successful when it came down to manipulate people. He could give himself titles and claim territory as much as he wanted to, but even a crown couldn't erase a man's sins. Iwamoto knew this and he believed in justice. It would only be a matter of time before Shu would have to pay the price for his misdeeds as well, like every criminal eventually would.

That he was sure of.


	3. Dominance

**3\. Dominance**

A new day had begun in Tokyo. It had actually begun a long time ago since it was getting close to noon now, yet a certain pink haired captive queen was not all that much interested in getting up in the slightest.

Various reasons came to mind as to why that could have been.

For one, despite the start of a new day, the sun had yet to grace the citizens of Tokyo with the warmth of its light. Heavy, dark and grayish clouds stood guard in the sky and had denied the bright star's light rays any passage. And by the looks of it, that wouldn't change anytime soon. It was a weather as gloomy as the mood of the queen had been on the day prior, yet it wasn't the reason she was still asleep.

Was it then the supreme fluffiness of the mattress she had had the privilege of resting on that had kept her in the realm of dreams? It had certainly been undeniable that the high quality furniture of the Kuhouin mansion had, indeed, been top notch and could have even made angels jealous of their comfort, but Inori had already been in such a deep slumber even while resting on the shabby mattress she had shared with her Adam back in their hideout, so that couldn't have been it, either.

Perhaps it had instead been the sweetest of dreams about her beloved king that had kept her consciousness away from reality? Not entirely unlikely, given the content smile her sleeping face currently sported. Undoubtedly, the images the pinkette currently could see in her mind must have been quite nice, for she reached out for something in her sleep, grabbing it and putting both her arms around it, followed by pulling it closer to her and snuggling against it contently.

"Shu…" You could hear her mumble in her current state, obviously experiencing a joyous event in her fantasy. Onlookers would have thought the scene wouldn't have appeared graceful or befitting of a queen at all. But it wasn't as if Inori of all people would have cared. A crown she may have worn and shackles may have adorned her wrists, but her dreams were still hers alone and in them, she had had every right to be the maiden in love she had merely wanted to be all along, far away from the burden of leadership and the responsibilities that had instead plagued her existence these days.

However, when a girlish giggling resounded by the "object" her half-asleep self had currently chosen to embrace, her mind subconsciously started to wonder whether the images provided by her imagination had really been true or not. She frowned at the sound, opening her eyes shortly after, followed by blinking tiredly.

"Shu…?"

When she looked in a set of, not reddish brown, but crystal blue eyes instead, her very own ones opened up wide as she hastily let go of the stranger.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." The cheerful voice of the girl in front of her greeted her, yet Inori was far too surprised about the stranger's existence in the first place for her to ever notice these words.

"Who…!" She gasped in shock as she quickly pushed herself away to gain distance, only to hit her head on the wall that was behind her.

"Ungh…" Silently groaning in pain, she couldn't help but press her eyes shut and hold her aching head with both hands as if it would magically make the throbbing pain go away. Opening up her tearful eyes seconds later revealed an unfamiliar room to her, instead of her and Shu's from back home. This only made her panic more.

"Where…!" She confusedly asked as she kept looking all around her. That was the point in which she slowly started to recognize the strange room she was in to be the one she had been brought to yesterday evening. And as realization struck, so did her memories of the previous day return. Gradually, the shock in her eyes vanished and got instead replaced by calmness, albeit not without being accompanied by a displeased frown once she had looked down on her left ring finger where she had spotted the cursed meteorite ring still glowing like it always had with its faint purplish sheen.

Laughter was soon heard by her ears, coming from the girls in front of her. For a second Inori wondered if she might have hit her head a bit too hard on that wall, for she saw two identical beings before her, but no matter how strong she shook her head, the amount of people in front of her did not decrease. One of the blonde girls was still lying on the bed, laughing while holding her stomach with closed eyes, while the other one stood next to her, grinning from ear to ear with her hands held in front of her mouth as if to muffle her laughter. Inori eyed them both with quite some displeasure as she continued to rub the back of her head, but refrained from showing anger as the laughter itself did not bore any mockery or malicious glee towards her. Just genuine childish amusement.

"What a way to wake up, lady!" The one on the bed praised her with a grin, still giggling.

"It was worth letting you sleep in if we could get to see something like that in return." The other one added, sighing happily after the laughter had subsided.

The queen didn't need long to recognize their faces to be the ones she had seen belonging to the sleeping twins that had been carried around with her yesterday evening. They were the ones with the teleportation voids. She vaguely remembered these two having been the ones who had called in the army of her former followers on the day Mana had died. They wore a white and gold, long-sleeved undershirt, each covered by a swallowtail jacket that was made of wool and of similar design yet different color. The one lying on the bed had one that was hooded and came in the color scheme of gold and white. It was decorated with swirling, decorative patterns colored in gold while the general background was of white color. At the very tips of each swallow tail, there was a fading transition into royal purple.

The standing one's coat was missing the hood and instead of the zip her sister's one had, hers merely had two small, triangular buttons to fasten it, but were left open near the top and bottom slightly, making it look a bit like a nomad's cloak in the colors of fiery red and orange mixed with charcoal black. It came with a tartan checkered pattern with the lines behind red, intermixed and shaded with orange. Lastly, the background was dyed in charcoal black velvet.

Aside from that, they wore identical things from the waist down. White and gold skirts adorned their waists which had a slow transition into black on them and on their feet they wore thigh-high socks of the same color, albeit with the diamond pattern, which went up the sides of their legs, though Inori could only tell for sure because the one lying in bed wasn't currently wearing the brown, worn, leather thigh-high boots the other one had.

The last thing the queen noticed was the insignia on both of the girl's undershirts. Both had the symbol of a wing embedded into it in a bright, golden color, though they were mirrored. One had a left wing, while the other had the right.

"It's Inori, not "Lady"." She corrected them, obviously displeased.

This made the one on the bed scratch her head as she looked at her sister. "I thought she was Eve?"

She earned a shrug from her in return. "That's what Yuu-nii calls her all the time."

"Well, you can call me that, too, I suppose…" The queen sighed and got up slowly, withholding a yawn. "What do you want, Da'ath girls?"

This time, it was the twins' turn to frown at the queen. "We've got names, too, you know?" The one sitting on the bed said. "I'm Abeline. That's my sister Zoe." She pointed towards her standing sister next to her during the last part.

"Yuu-nii said to go wake you up, since it is going to be noon soon. But when we came here, we just admired how pretty you are." Zoe admitted sheepishly.

"Right! Say, can we braid your hair, Inori? It sort of looks like it would be fun! Please?" Abeline then clapped both hand together in front of her eagerly, to which the queen only took a step back, narrowed her eyes and said:

"No."

"Why not?"

Because I hate you? The words practically already sat on her tongue, waiting to leave her mouth, but she never let them come out in the end, feeling as if it would probably be a bit too harsh to say to mere children. Instead she said:

"I like my hair the way it is right now, thank you." Both gave a disappointed "Awww" in return, but nodded in understanding anyway. Maybe next time, then.

Inori didn't intend for there to be a next time, ever.

As the queen was heading over to a mirror to fix that bed hair of hers, Abeline asked:

"Hey, Inori? Who's Shu?"

The pinkette froze up for a sec, being yet again reminded by the distinct absence of a certain man she valued above all else.

"Someone who is most precious to me." She responded, absentmindedly as she continued to comb her hair with a somewhat sad expression.

"Does that mean he is your boyfriend or something?" Zoe asked curiously, to which she earned a nod from her. This, somehow, made both twins smile excitedly.

"Ooooh. Tell us more! Is he handsome?"

Inori blinked at them, not really knowing how to reply. Was Shu handsome? She had no idea. She did love the look in his eyes and how his smile caused a warm feeling to spread through her whole body, but did that make him handsome? What defined handsomeness? She frowned in confusion, but realized something else instead.

"Shouldn't you know? He was there when I was captured. You were the ones who teleported us all."

"Eh…?" Abeline closed one eye and scratched her head, trying to remember. Zoe shrugged next to her.

"We teleport a lot of people. It's kinda hard to remember everyone of them." She admitted.

"Right." Abeline agreed with her sister, then suddenly got all excited again. "Hey, you got a picture of him? We might remember then." Her twin sister nodded at that suggestion.

"…no." Inori suddenly realized. She did not have a picture of Shu. She actually didn't even have a cell phone. Though if she had, Yuu might have either taken it from her anyway, or at least prohibited the use of it anyway.

Either way, the girls only frowned at her disappointedly. "Really? What kind of girlfriend doesn't have a picture of her boyfriend?"

"Do you really have one, or are you merely pretending to?" They both said, narrowing their eyes in the process.

The queen couldn't help but eye both of them in a very displeased fashion. She did not like it when people called her a liar, especially when it involved Shu, having nothing but the most genuine feelings for him, if not even the most valuable ones of them all. She would never lie about her feelings for him at all. How dare they…! They wanted to see Shu? She would show them.

Closing her eyes for a second, she envisioned his face in her mind, focusing very hard to get as many details into the image as possible. Then she suddenly opened her eyes again, followed by stomping onto the floor. The twins stumbled backwards a bit from surprise and gawked in disbelief at the sudden crystal structure that had shot up from the ground in front of Inori right after her foot had struck it. In front of them a beautiful crystal statue stood, depicting a life-size version of Shu standing tall and proud, yet with a kind smile on his lips.

While the girls kept staring and proceeded to inspect the statue from all angles shortly after, Inori couldn't help but be displeased with her work. It barely caught up to the original with many details missing and its shape being too rough at some parts. It also only came in one color of solid purple, which Inori found to be regrettable. This creation didn't do Shu justice at all. She silently vowed to herself to try harder next time. One day, she would make a truly beautiful one and show it to Shu. She hoped he would like it. Just imagining the look on his surprised and slightly moved face already planted a slight smile on her lips. She nodded. It was a promise to herself.

Despite Inori's unhappiness with her results, however, the twins themselves appeared to be mighty impressed with her work, clapping and cheering excitedly.

"Amazing! It looks so real!" Abeline said while gently moving her hand over the surface of the newly created object.

"And she only made it in one second, too." Zoe agreed, eying the crystal with eyes sparkling from awe. For some reason, she eyed the queen eagerly when she asked: "Could you please teach me?"

Inori could do little but frown, feeling troubled. For one, having a soft spot for children made it hard for her to be strict with them, even if they were with Da'ath…and secondly, she couldn't teach this to anyone even if she wanted to, since only Eve could do this in the first place.

"I can't." She thus replied honestly, feeling a soft sting in her heart when she saw the young girl's sadness and disappointment in her eyes. She bit down on her lower lip, unable to accept how she was beginning to actually feel bad for this Da'ath hell spawn.

"I see…" Zoe merely said with downcast eyes. Next to her, Abeline noticed her sister's sadness and tried to quickly change the topic by cheerfully pointing at the statue once she had actually recognized the person it depicted.

"Oh, it's the angry one from yesterday!"

"You're right, sis." Zoe, shaking off her disappointment rather quickly, admitted after taking a closer look at the figure, but was then seen frowning at it. "I don't like him. He said he would hurt Yuu-nii. He's a bad guy." She was silenced immediately by a hairbrush flying straight past her face with enough force that it actually kept sticking out of the wall it hit behind her. The girl's slowly turned around and looked at the stuck object with dread before gulping and facing the queen again, who was eying them coldly.

"I do not care what you say about me or how much you idolize that envoy, but if you ever speak ill of Shu again, I will get angry, you know?" She told them with a very fake looking smile, causing both of them to gulp once more, followed by laughing nervously.

"Got it. No badmouthing your boyfriend. Sorry." Zoe said, shaking slightly. Inori, seeing the horrified expression of the child, could do little but sigh and walk up to the scared girl, patting her head gently.

"It's okay. I forgive you. I didn't mean to be that scary…." She tried to calm her down again. The shaking stopped, but the nervousness remained.

"N-no, I get it. I was acting out of line. It was not my place to say that about your Adam. Yuu-nii told us how important Adam is to Eve, so I should have known." Zoe was visibly feeling bad about this and waved her hand in front of her wildly before her sister put an arm around her shoulders and grinned.

"You'll have to be easy on Zoe, Inori. She tends to speak before thinking sometimes. Mean words will leave her mouth every now and then but she usually doesn't mean them, right?" The last bit was directed at her twin as she shared an encouraging smile with her.

"Right. Really sorry." She closed her eyes in shame and folded her hands in front of her hips with downcast eyes.

Looking at such a sincere apology, Inori couldn't bring herself to be mad at Zoe any longer, so she stroked her hair kindly and smiled while kneeling next to her to get on her eye level.

"It's okay. I am not mad anymore."

"Really?" Zoe asked with relief in her eyes, to which Inori merely nodded.

"That's a huge relief, since we actually came to make friends." Abeline admitted shyly while rubbing the back of her head. Next to her, her sister awkwardly put her index fingers together and averted her gaze, slightly sulking.

"We don't have many, aside from Yuu-nii and Harune, so we thought we might ask."

Inori blinked at them for a second in bewilderment before sighing at the both of them, getting up again and putting her hands on each side of her hips with narrowed eyes.

"I am not really sure if you get this, but are you aware that I hate Da'ath?"

They nodded.

"And it doesn't strike you as odd to be friends with me?"

"Why not? We don't particularly care about Da'ath, either." Abeline said while tilting her head slightly, catching Inori by surprise.

"Aren't you with them?" The queen wondered.

"We are with Yuu-nii. He likes Da'ath, but we don't really care." Zoe admitted indifferently as she shrugged. Her sister frowned next to her.

"Everyone in there is just being weird, anyway." She felt the need to add.

This got Inori at a loss. So these Da'ath girls weren't really Da'ath girls? How weird.

"I hate Yuu, too, you know." She told them. The girl's expression got visibly sadder.

"Maybe we could still get along? He doesn't seem to hate you all that much." Abeline argued, causing Inori's expression to darken slightly.

"As long as he keeps me from Shu, that man and I will never get along…" She told them with seriousness in her voice as she turned around and walked a few steps away from them. The girls looked troubled at her declaration which, in return, troubled Inori as well. Gee, children really were her weak spot, huh.

"However, if you promise to be nice, maybe I could let you stick around with me?" She thus added while looking back at them from over her shoulder, seeing their expressions lighten up as soon as she had finished talking. They gave her an eager nod and a wide smile in response and Inori couldn't help but get moved by their childish charm. Oh well, she was to be a captive anyway, so having some children around might distract her from all the gloomy thoughts that would normally swirl around in her head in this situation. She might come to enjoy the company.

"Should we go then?" Abeline asked eagerly and clapped her hands together with a big grin. "To Yuu-nii and the others?"

"The blonde lady doesn't seem to like you very much, though." Zoe added, undoubtedly speaking of Arisa.

The queen met the girl's worried frown with a mildly amused smile. "How fitting, for I don't particularly like her, either."

"Grown-ups are always so hostile for some reason…" Abeline said while scratching the back of her head, as if troubled. "Don't they ever get along?"

This caused Inori to spontaneously laugh at the remark, noticing the truth lying in it.

"No, Abeline. Turns out that adults are nothing but children still. Only more violent and dangerous and a whole lot less cute and innocent." She told her amusedly, suddenly realizing all the things being a queen and being a mother had in common. One of them may have worn a crown, but in the end both of them looked over nothing but children nonetheless. Unreasonable, loud and greedy ones, but still people who, if given the proper guidance, held the potential to become decent and lovely in the end.

All it took was patience, love and a bit of a stern hand. She had more than enough of the first two. She would learn to make use of the last one in due time as well, if she had to.

Hell, it looked like she was about to become a real master at it with all this shit currently going on in her life. Even though she had never wanted that to be the case.

She looked down slightly. Things never turned out the way you wanted them to be…

"Let's go." She eventually said determinedly after shaking her head to get rid of those depressing thoughts. The twins nodded at that and took the lead, obviously knowing where to go. The queen followed them as they led her out of the room and to a stairway leading downstairs to reach the ground floor. From there, they went through several doors and hallways on their quest to find the dining room.

Inori couldn't help but notice the high amount of guards posted around the mansion as she moved through the huge building. They didn't get in their way or even attempted to speak to them, but the queen could still feel their wary eyes follow her every move. Those guys were professionals for sure. Arisa wasn't fucking around, it seemed, but then again…she probably could afford the expense these mercenaries surely would provide her with. If Inori remembered correctly, Tsugumi had said the Kuhouin group has been doing well enough to compete on the world market, despite the Japanese economy being pretty much at an all-time low. Though it became question worthy whether that success was due to Arisa's talent or rather Da'ath's support. Not that it mattered either way.

Once they eventually reached their destination, Inori learned that the dining room was quite spacious, probably meant to house far more than just the pitiful amount of people it currently held. That much was evident when you considered the sheer size of the gigantic table standing at the center. There were twelve comfy looking chairs placed all around it and a giant chandelier hung down from the ceiling, finely decorated with golden plating and small crystals hanging down from its various arms. Partially hidden behind expensive looking curtains, there were also lots of windows decorating the outer wall. Surely those would normally let the room be embraced by lots of sunlight, if it weren't for the cloudy weather outside right now. The floor was wooden and so clean that Inori could actually see herself blurrily being reflected on it. It was so spotless, that she almost feared it might have been as slippery as ice, which it surprisingly wasn't. On the wall, a few family portraits hung. Some of Arisa and some of her grandfather. Others were of people Inori did not really know. Surely Arisa would have been able to tell her, but the queen felt no particular need to know, nor did she think the blonde Kuhouin princess would be willing to tell her in the first place.

All in all, it had a very aristocratic feel to it, Inori had to admit. More than she could say about her and Shu's place. Arisa probably intended to show off to her using this room as an example. Not that Inori particularly minded, of course. She didn't really need wealth or luxury in her life. Just Shu would do. Ironically, it turned out the only thing that would really impress Inori would be something Arisa could never show off with in the first place, because she would never possess it in all her life. That's right, Inori thought. Shu was hers alone.

That thought made her smile a little, visibly irritating the blonde woman sitting at the most elegant chair of them all, probably reserved for the head of the house.

"What are you grinning at?" She asked her with a raised brow as she watched her and the twins approach the table. Souta was standing behind her with his hands folded behind his back while Yuu was sitting to Arisa's right, casually talking with Harune about something, who was sitting next to him.

"Nothing. Just admiring the view." She half-lied to her. Before Arisa could respond, it was actually the envoy who spoke up this time, finally noticing her presence and thus finally turning towards her while raising his hands excitedly.

"Ah, good morning, Eve. Or should I rather say good day? How nice of you to finally grace us with your presence. Did you sleep well?" He inquired politely while chuckling slightly at his own little joke. Arisa could do little but frown at him while folding her arms in displeasure.

"Of course she must have, sleeping in for so long and letting everyone wait for her _majesty_ to wake up…"

"Seeing you so irritated about it almost makes me wish I had slept for a while longer." Inori replied nonchalantly while avoiding the blonde's gaze as if making eye contact was too much of a bother.

"Come on, ladies. There is no need for this right at the start of a new day now, is there?" Yuu tried to defuse the situation while trying to laugh the matter off. "Eve must have been very tired since yesterday and I am sure she needed the rest. But that being said, Eve, please understand that Miss Kuhouin is busy as well and can't wait for you to wake up all day. You almost missed breakfast. Now wouldn't that have been a shame?" He asked her amusedly to which both girls clicked their tongues in annoyance, yet didn't object since the envoy had raised valid points. Even though it was slightly pissing them off how he had chosen to take both their sides instead of sticking to one, thus effectively choosing neither.

While Inori could do very well without the envoy trying to suck up to her by acting kind towards her, Arisa seemed to be disappointed that the envoy would support Inori in the first place, rather than siding with her solely. They were supposed to be on the same team, weren't they?

Though then again, the blonde business woman eventually realized with a bitter frown, that it might have actually been her who was acting weird in the first place. Of course the envoy of Da'ath would try to appease her and Inori both, since Da'ath actually viewed Eve as an ally…unlike Arisa, who kind of went against their ideology by antagonizing her instead. But she just couldn't help it. Why must all Eve candidates be such…imbeciles? She had kind of been ready to support Mana back in the day, even going as far as to _overlook_ the fact that she had been the sister of that _wretched_ individual that was Ouma Shu, not to mention a direct rival in her conquest of Tsutsugami Gai, but to now support Inori? The lover of the man who had murdered her prince in cold blood? There was the possibility that she had even aided him in doing it, too. It wasn't even funny, really. Why must she, the head of the Kuhouin family, support such a filthy being?

The torment on the blonde woman's mind was clearly evident by analyzing said woman's troubled facial expression, yet Inori chose to downright ignore it and go for the things that were _really_ important:

"You spoke of breakfast, envoy. And yet this table is empty." Inori couldn't help but point out with narrowed eyes, gesturing at the broad, yet barren dining table in front of her with both her hands.

"It would not be, had you woken up at a more civilized time like everyone else had." Arisa objected with annoyance in her voice.

"The Kuhouin supplies have run out by now, so we are all dependent on what the military hands to us, like everybody else." Souta decided to explain to the queen hastily in a more gentle tone to avoid further bickering among the ladies. "Da'ath does send additional supplies, but the majority of those are used up by the mercenaries, so…" He scratched his cheek apologetically and broke eye contact as if feeling bad about that situation.

"Plus, with those gluttonous twins behind you, there was bound to be nothing left unless you came early to grab your portion before they could eat it all up." Harune continued the explanation while eying Zoe and Abeline with a knowing smirk. Both girls quickly sent a disapproving glare her way. Waving their arms around wildly, they tried to refute her point with flustered faces.

"S-so what? We can't help it. Teleporting people isn't exactly easy and we have done our fair share of teleporting yesterday. One who does work also needs to eat! Everyone knows that!" Zoe cried at her with gritted teeth.

"Yeah! Not to mention we are going through a serious stage of our growth right now, too." Abeline agreed with her sister while clenching both her fists in front of her which already told stories about how worked up she had gotten by this. She turned her attention towards Yuu as if looking for his support. "Right, Yuu-nii?"

Said man only chuckled amusedly and offered her a grin as he ruffled the young girl's blond hair teasingly. "While you are technically correct, there is no need to get so defensive over this, you know? If you keep reacting like that, Harune will only have more fun teasing you." He explained to her patiently.

"But still…" Abeline tried to object with a sullen face when Inori decided to cut in on their pointless conversation.

"So in other words, you are denying me breakfast." She deduced with a very displeased look present on her face.

"No way." Yuu gave himself shocked at her words and quickly tried to appease the queen by denying her claim on the spot with a polite smile. "You are an honorable guest of Da'ath, Eve. They would never deny your wishes."

Inori frowned at that. "I'll take freedom, then."

"Except that one."

"Of course…" Inori sighed at his pathetic attempt at laughing the matter off as if it had been but a mere joke from the start. What a distasteful man. Well, it wasn't as if she had expected thing to turn out differently, so she chose to get back to the problem at hand. She _was_ hungry after all.

"So, what am I going to eat?" She saw Yuu sighing at her as if ashamed of himself, then he let a box of cereal appear in his right hand in a whirl of silver threads.

"My apologies, Eve. While I am aware this isn't a meal befitting for a queen, it appears to be the only thing left from the rations present here." He told her, which almost made Inori laugh. As if she would believe that for even just a second. "Only thing left", her ass. More like "The only thing Arisa was willing to spare for her." But whatever, she would take it. It's not like she had high standards when it came to food in the first place. As long as it was edible, it would do. After all, the food back at the hideout hadn't exactly been "high class", either.

"It's fine." She thus merely told him as she took the box off him in annoyance. Proceeding to take a seat at the table, far from everyone else to make it obvious she didn't want to be part of the "Da'ath fanclub", she then started to pour her portion of cereal into a crystal bowl she had created out of thin air with the mere wave of her hand. A spoon of the same crystalline material appeared on the table right next to it. However, it was right then and there that she realized that she was actually missing something crucial still. Something she couldn't simple create. Biting on her lower lip in frustration, she simply stated: "Milk."

That's right. How could anyone even attempt to eat this stuff without it? Inori had been very much aware of the fact that her eating habits had never been…ordinary, given how her friends had oftentimes watched her eat her meals with wide eyes in the past, but even she was not barbaric enough as to attempt eating cereal raw out of a bowl. Who was she, an animal? Even she had to draw the line _somewhere_.

"Over there." Arisa told her in utter boredom and pointed at a service tray behind herself. It was one of those that came with wheels so that it could be moved from the kitchen over to the dining room and back to transport dishes and drinks. You would usually see maids or butlers pushing these things around to serve their masters or guests. Unfortunately for Inori, there was no servant available to push the tray for her. The queen had a promotion how this would end for her, but decided to try to ask politely anyway:

"Could you please hand it to me?"

"No."

Figures. It would take the blonde princess no effort whatsoever to turn around, grab the milk and pass it on to her. Heck, she could have even thrown it to her for all Inori cared. But, of course, Arisa wouldn't be nice enough to do that now, would she?

"Why not?" Inori thus asked with narrowed eyes.

"I am not your servant. Get your milk yourself." The blonde business woman declared defiantly with folded arms.

"Um…I wouldn't mind giving the milk to her…" Harune offered them with a nervously raised hand, but quickly got shut down by an intense stare from the head of the house that clearly told her to be quiet right now. Laughing nervously, the young woman decided to obey and used the raised arm to awkwardly scratch the back of her head instead. "Or…I could simply continue to sit here, yeah. That's probably for the best." She chickened out.

Trying to suppress the feelings of anger rising up inside her, Inori closed her eyes in an attempt to calm her nerves. Was this how things would go from now one? Would Arisa and her friends attempt to annoy her at any chance they would get? Surely they must be joking. The queen was sure even the kids back home would be more mature than this. That's why she decided to send a meaningful glare Yuu's way to see how he would react to all of this as soon as she had opened her eyes again, but strangely enough, the cursed envoy chose to avoid eye contact with her and pretended to drink something from his, presumably empty, teacup to avoid having to say anything.

This made the queen raise a brow in mild surprise. The envoy was trying to stay out of this as well? How odd. She had assumed he would stand up for her to avoid further conflict. After all, while she was positive about him being obnoxious and quite the despicable man, he had at least never struck her as being the childish type who would go along with this as well. So why would he? Inori's ever-analyzing eyes traveled over to meet Miss Kuhouin's cold ones. Was Yuu afraid of Arisa? She frowned. It couldn't be. Arisa was in no way more dangerous than Inori was. Or perhaps the blonde princess was more dangerous now, since Yuu had managed to get Inori's Eve powers under his control, thus not having to fear much from her right now? Perhaps Inori was merely overthinking this and the envoy was just trying to be respectful since he was in someone else's house, but still…it struck her as odd. In the first place, why would Yuu have to ask for permission to stay the night here? Couldn't he just have straight up done it if he had had the authority? Did he really just ask out of courtesy, or could it be that Arisa was actually above him in the Da'ath hierarchy, thus preventing him from doing as he pleases? How curious.

Arisa's smirk broke her out of her line of thought.

"What's wrong, Inori? Not gonna fetch the milk like the dog on a collar you are?" She said while obviously looking down on the pink haired woman in question, probably trying to show that she had all the power here, while Inori had none. Normally, the pinkette would have disregarded such a petty attempt at taunting her and merely fetched the milk with indifference, but this was a slightly different situation this time. She wasn't taken seriously by Arisa, which simply wouldn't do. Inori needed Arisa to fear her in order to make her think twice about angering her in the future. Otherwise she might really try to go after Shu. That absolutely couldn't be allowed to happen.

Luckily for the queen, back when the queen's crown had been transferred over from Mana to her, Mana's memories had been part of the package. Everything Mana had known, Inori did now know as well, which made it easy for her to remember the day Mana had taken over her body to harm Arisa all those years ago. Something she hadn't been able to do until now. What Mana had said, what she had done and even _how_ she had done it. It was all clear as crystals to Inori now. Good, she thought with determination in her eyes. Let's bring back some _trauma_ now, shall we _?_

Everyone's eyes rested on her as she slammed both her hands against the table to push herself on her feet. Slowly, she stood up while looking down in order to let her hair obstruct her eyes and only let the creepy smirk on her lips be visible to them. With an uncharacteristically sweet voice she began giggling to herself, playfully asking herself:

"Now, I wonder where the milk is, hmmm."

Souta and Yuu threw questioning look at each other, not really understanding the change in character. Their confusion grew even bigger when they saw Arisa of all people tensing up all of a sudden for no apparent reason.

"Arisa?" Souta asked her, visibly concerned about the fact that her eyes had suddenly opened up wide with pearls of sweat appearing on her forehead.

"S-she's going to attack." He could hear her mumble with fear in her untypical quiet voice. It was barely more than a whimper. Her actions confused him even more. What was she so afraid of? Inori should be safe right now, right?

"Arisa, calm down. Nothing's gonna…" He tried to calm her down by placing his hands on her shoulders, but she wouldn't even look at him. Her eyes were focused straight at Inori as if she was looking at the face of the devil.

"Ah." They then heard the queen exclaim cheerfully. Souta could feel a chill traveling down his spine. How can one's voice sound so sweet, yet so ominous at the same time?

"I _found you_!" She was seen raising her right hand at them slowly. The newly appointed knight had a bad feeling about this, especially since he could feel Arisa clenching his suit desperately before burying her face inside his chest while loudly crying:

"Nooo! Save me!"

That's when it everything started to feel as if it was happening all at once.

He didn't know whether it was his instinct or merely his desire to answer to Arisa's call, but something in Souta clicked and he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pushed himself in between her and Inori, facing the scary queen with his back while acting as Arisa's shield. At the same time, from Inori's sleeve, a crystal tendril shot out with the speed of a bullet. Out of fear, Souta had closed his eyes, so all he had really been able to register was the sound of a chair tripping over, girls screaming in surprise and the feeling of something shooting past him in high speed. Heck, he had even _felt_ something grazing his side. However, strangely enough, there was no pain.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he saw a long tentacle-like crystal floating through the air, its end wrapped around the milk package which slowly began getting carried past him and back to Inori. He watched it dumbfounded as it passed him by as if he had never seen anything as ridiculous as that ever before. From the corner of his eyes, he saw how Yuu had gotten up from his, apparently having attempted to prevent this from happening, yet having been entirely too late. Harune had her mouth covered with her hand in shock while the twins only gawked with their mouths in the shape of an 'o'.

In his arms, Arisa was trembling like a leaf, still clutching to him strong enough that he could feel her nails dig into his flesh through his suit. Although it really hurt, he chose to bear with it. After all, he had never seen Arisa so terrified before. Her eyes were tightly shut as she was still pressing her head against his chest. While he had to admit that he really enjoyed the closeness they shared with each other right now, he was far too concerned about Arisa's wellbeing to really draw some satisfaction out of it. Gulping once in order to calm his own heavily beating heart down, he tried his hardest to not let his nervousness show when he tried to comfort her with a gently voice.

"A-Arisa. It's alright. You are safe. Everything is fine."

"Eh?" He felt her flinch inside his arms for a short moment before she began opening her eyes fearfully. That' when he noticed that they sparkled with tears. No way. Arisa was actually crying! Was he dreaming? Where his heart had previously beaten strongly out of fear for her safety, it was now beating due to the sight before him. There she lied in his arms. Arisa Kuhouin. Shaking from fear and being utterly vulnerable while looking up to him with tearful eyes. There was not a single man on this world who wouldn't have gotten moved by this sight. The urge to hold her closer and kiss her grew stronger and stronger in him and he might have even gone for it, if it hadn't been for Inori's teasing voice shaking them out of their trance again.

"Oh my." She said while putting a hand on her cheek and leaning against it slightly, smiling innocently. "What might have happened there, Arisa? You look as if you had seen a ghost."

This got Arisa rather upset. A fire appeared in her tearful eyes as her expression changed from fearful into furious. However, her anger, surprisingly, wasn't directed at Inori herself, who was now casually adding milk to her cereals, but instead at Yuu, who could do little but frown in return.

"What is the meaning of this, Yuu? Shouldn't you have her under control?" She snapped at him, after gently pushing herself off Souta. Something the man seemed to look back on with slight regret.

"I have." He merely retorted with a neutral voice, not allowing himself to get worked up at all because of her outburst.

"Then what was that just now?" She demanded to know while pointing her finger at Inori rather rudely.

"…Intimidation?" Yuu took his fair guess with a shrug. He wasn't exactly a mind reader, so how would he know? "She can't actually hurt any of us, so…"

"That's not good enough!" The blonde princess yelled while slamming her fist against the top of the table. "As long as you don't restrict her crystal creation ability completely, she will always remain a danger to anyone around her." She argued.

"Not anyone." Inori corrected her after gulping down one spoonful of cereal with a bored expression as she listened in on the conversation. "Just Da'ath."

It appeared as if she had assumed her usual personality once more. Thank god, Yuu thought. Handling a borderline crazy and bloodthirsty Eve would surely have been too much trouble for one simple envoy to deal with. Not that handling _ANY_ kind of Eve was especially easy in the first place…  
Anyway, he was just relieved that Inori had decided to return to her docile, even if just slightly defiant state for now.

Arisa had used Inori's response to urge Yuu to do something in the meantime, pointing eagerly at Inori once more after she had finished talking.

"There. You heard it. She is a danger and has to be restrained." She told him demandingly while folding her arms in front of her, being utterly confident about her reasoning. Yuu had to suppress a sigh. Had this woman forgotten she had been crying and trembling in fear just a moment ago? Who was she playing the strong woman here for? It was obvious she was just scared shitless, not that he could blame her for that, of course. Eve _was_ a scary person. No matter if it was Mana or Inori. Power was always scary unless it could be controlled. Unfortunately, the envoy realized that it was about time he brought her the bad news.

"I understand your desire to do so, but, like Eve said yesterday, it isn't that easy. In fact, it's impossible." He told her truthfully while scratching the back of his head in frustration. Gosh, being surrounded by so many women sure was noisy.

Contrary to the expectations, Arisa didn't lash out at him immediately with rage but instead chose to eye him seriously and calmly, demanded an explanation instead. This caused the envoy to smile in approval. Calmness and curiosity, now that was a reaction which was more to his liking. With a slightly improved mood, he thus decided to ask her with a knowing smirk:

"Let me ask you this first, Miss Kuhouin. What do you think those rings are?" He held up his left hand, pointing at the dark and purple trinket on his ring finger.

"A leash to keep a disobedient bitch in line?" She threw an angry glare Inori's way who merely chose to ignore it, deeming her breakfast a bit more important.

The envoy, however, merely shook his head and shrugged.

"Not quite." He raised a finger, eager to explain things more clearly to her. "You are not entirely wrong, since it _is_ a mechanism meant to be used on unruly Eves in case of their refusal to grant humanity ascension, however, if it really was as simple as you said, wouldn't that be bad?"

"How so?" Souta decided to ask the question that undoubtedly was also on his boss' mind.

"Think about it." Yuu continued his explanation, still smirking. "All is fine and well if we assume Eve is simply unwilling to bring the apocalypse so you use the rings to force her, but what if it was the other way around? What would happen if Eve was actually ready to bring the end, yet humanity decided it wasn't? If this artifact was that powerful, wouldn't humanity simply use it to restraint Eve forever to ensure the apocalypse would never happen?"

"The safety provided by the system to ensure success would be used against the very system it was meant to protect." Harune deduced after having listened to the envoy's words. Yuu chuckled at her realization.

"Exactly. Which is why there are additional safeties built into the safety, you see."

"Urgh, this is getting complicated again, isn't it, sis?" Zoe was heard whining next to her sister who had a similar confused expression present on her face.

"It's not that hard to understand." Inori chose to tell them. "It just means he can't do as he pleases just because he managed to put a stupid ring on me."

Ignoring Inori, Arisa directed her attention back to the envoy. "What is she talking about, Yuu?"

"Well, it's basically as she said. There are limitations. Turns out, those rings aren't as much a leash as they are rather a rope Eve and I are each holding at the ends, constantly pulling to force the other to yield. A tug of war, so to say. Only instead of a rope, we are using our willpower."

"How does that work…?" Souta was seen frowning and scratching his head in confusion.

"Simple." The envoy said and chuckled. "For every command I give Eve, my willpower clashes with hers. If mine is stronger, she must yield and comply. If mine is weaker, she can go against me."

"But that completely defeats the purpose!" The head of the Kuhouin family objected. That couldn't be right.

"True, which is why the one who controls Eve is given an enormous boost while wearing this ring. My willpower is currently considerably stronger than Eve's, which ensures that she has to follow my every order."

"So where's the problem, then?" Arisa wanted to know. This time it was Inori's turn to smirk at her.

"He said _currently_ which means he is eventually going to run out."

"How can you run out of willpower?" Harune asked curiously. She had a point. It wasn't as if it was a finite resource like gold or something.

"By being unable to rest and recover." Yuu simply stated. "You see, whenever I use my willpower to command her, it gets weaker. Same should be the case for Eve, too, whenever she chooses to resist. In fact, the more she resists, the more willpower I need to overcome her with. Since I have more than her, I can push my orders through, but that's where the problem lies. As long as Eve obeys, she isn't using up any willpower, meaning she is able to recover. I, on the other hand, have to constantly keep spending mine in order to keep her from suddenly going against me. In other words: I can never rest, meaning…"

"Even though you hold the advantage, you will eventually tire out and lose…" Arisa eventually understood while putting a hand on her chin thoughtfully. Well, that was a problem.

Yuu nodded, apparently happy that everyone was able to follow his explanation.

"Indeed. As you see, Eve and I are fighting a little war with our minds. And while I am winning the battles so far, she is meant to win the war in the end, if I choose to drag it out for too long, that is. All to ensure someone can't control Eve forever."

"She's trying to tire you out, huh." Souta thought out aloud while throwing a quick glance at Inori, who at last had pushed her crystal bowl away, having now finished eating its contents. So that's why she was trying to cause trouble to the envoy yesterday by demanding her own room. Inori probably hadn't particularly cared either way, but every additional order will in return tire the envoy out sooner. Only that Yuu hadn't taken the bait and had chosen to grant her request instead.

"So in other words, it's a battle against time. Whether you can achieve what you want while you still control her before she breaks free, is that it?"

"That's correct, Mr. Tamadate." Yuu chose to confirm the knight's words with a smirk.

"So, what happens to Yuu-nii once he loses?" Abeline wanted to know, sounding somewhat nervous.

"Well, in theory, it just means that Eve will be free once again, but…"

"But in actuality, it just means he will die." Inori chose to finish the sentence for him while looking at him with an uncommon amount of murderous intent flaring up in her eyes. You wouldn't recognize her as the peace-loving and gentle person she normally was.

"W-wha-…?" Abeline and Zoe exclaimed in shock once they had heard her say that in that cold voice of hers. Harune, too, looked rather taken aback as she eyed the envoy with wide, open eyes.

"I-is that true, Yuu?"

The blond man in white could do little but offer her a shy laugh as he chose to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well, it is widely regarded to be a death sentence to put those rings to use." He admitted sheepishly. "After all, the effect only lasts temporarily and either ends once your will is broken or the Eve curse disappears after she brings the apocalypse. Either way, Eve is not to be expected to show mercy on their former captor once she breaks free." Even if Eve was this girl who used to be so easy to handle in the past, huh. He threw a short glance at Inori, who still eyed him coldly. Yep, not gonna happen. There was no mercy for him where he was going. Not that he particularly needed it.

"Nooooo! Big sis Inori! Don't kill Yuu-nii!" He suddenly heard Abeline and Zoe crying and tugging on Inori while begging for her to spare him. He watched them with mild surprise. Well, that was a first, he thought. In all his life, he had probably never seen anyone crying for him. How amusing. His own parents could have learned a lot from those two mere girls. Especially when it came to showing emotions. Then again, it was to be expected of Da'ath, he supposed. Nothing but emotionless fanatics in the end.

"What are you smiling about, I wonder?" He heard Harune ask next to him, eying him disbelievingly. "You just said you would die. How can you be fine with that? Are you an idiot?" She gritted her teeth at him and scolded him harshly. That was new, too, he thought. He had been called many things before, but never an idiot. No one at Da'ath would dare call him that. Now, weren't his newest additions to the secret society quite the interesting individuals? This caused him to close his eyes and chuckle to himself. Never a boring day with these guys around, was it?

"I told you to stop laughing. What's wrong with you?" Harune yelled at him disapprovingly. "Why did you go as far as to put that ring on if you knew it would kill you? I am sure we could have found another way to…"

"Oh, don't be mistaken. I have no intention of dying." He chose to shut her up with another chuckle, albeit finding her reaction quite entertaining, even if slightly noisy as well. This made everyone in the room stop and stare at him rather dumbfounded. Even Inori raised a brow at that.

"But didn't you say…" His brunette assistant wondered confusedly, never getting to chance to finish her sentence.

"Just because it is widely regarded as suicide doesn't mean it has to be." Yuu told her with a shrug, as if he was merely telling her something irrelevant.

"If you think I would show you mercy in the end, you really should think again." Inori merely stated while narrowing her eyes on him in disdain. How full of himself he had to be to assume she would let him live for just a second after getting freed. He must have been delusional.

But the envoy gave himself unimpressed. Smiling at her with confidence, he merely told her: "Oh I am sure you would not spare but a fraction of a second to end my life, Eve. If I were in your reach, that is." He closed an eye to look at her playfully, still grinning. "Knowing I would instill the wrath of Eve if I stayed near her, do you seriously think I would? I intend to pack my things and be gone the moment you ascend the throne as queen of the world."

"So you are going to run?" Inori asked him while eying him coldly. "I wouldn't have thought the envoy of Da'ath would be such a coward."

"It's not cowardice if you know that fighting would serve no purpose whatsoever. What good would fighting do me in the first place? If I lose, I die. If I win, I kill the queen I tried so hard to put on the throne all this time." He shook his head at her. "No, Eve. I am ready to give you many things, yet my life is not one of them. You must understand that I have waited far too long to see you rule for me to simply die right at the moment you would begin your reign. It might be regrettable that I cannot stand at your side and witness your decisions firsthand, but I am plenty content with just watching from afar if it has to be that way."

Inori was seen clenching her fists in anger. There was no way. Absolutely no way she would let this man live in her kingdom after all his misdeeds. What he had done to her and Shu…what he potentially could do to them or even the family she planned to have with Shu in the future…Should Yuu be allowed to live, nothing she cared for would ever be safe. Not she, not Shu, not their friends or their loyal subjects. Absolutely no one. That's why he had to die. At all costs. That's why she eventually replied with gritted teeth:

"You think you will be able to hide from me once the world is mine? Make no mistake, envoy. One day, I will find you and I will kill you. That I assure you of."

This caused the envoy to shrug at her with a taunting chuckle. "That's quite a scary promise, Eve. Alas I cannot believe your words in the end, for I know better." The look in his eyes became quite the mocking one as they began staring at her. Inori could almost feel them piercing her very own ones and gazing right at her soul. All while his spotless teeth shone at her deviously as he continued to smirk at her with confidence. "You won't."

Despite the unnerving chill that traveled down her spine, Inori managed to keep her cool, asking the envoy instead with defiance in her voice:

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Because, Eve,…" He sighed at her as he shook his head at her as if stating something obvious. Like a father would do when lecturing his child for asking yet another stupid question. "We both know you don't have it in you. I am sure it would very well be in your power to look for me all over the world in that witch hunt of yours. Raising armies, purging cities, burning forests,…you could do all that and far more if you really wanted to. But, you see, even if you tell yourself now that you would go that far to catch me, I know that when the time comes, you will not. Once you will be free again to do as you please, finally reunited with Adam at long last, ready to rule together over the world, all the hatred and malice you feel towards me will get pushed aside by happiness and relief. That it was finally over. That you could finally be together in peace. When you will eventually take a seat on your throne and it will be time to make a choice between a peaceful future with your Adam or the agonizing hunt for me that would plunge your kingdom in yet another conflict again, you and me both already know how that decision will turn out, don't we?"

Suddenly, the queen felt her resolve wavering. What the envoy said rung true in her mind. If, by chance, she would ever be given the choice between true peace or revenge, peace would always be her first choice. He knew that and that's why he felt so safe with his plan of running away. He knew Inori wouldn't slaughter dozens of innocent people just to get back on him. Even he wasn't worth that much chaos, though she was very reluctant to admit it. She frowned at the man and his cocky smirk.

"And yet these are all just assumptions that could change any day." She merely stated. "How little you must care about your life to risk it all on the mere assumption that I would not go after you."

"It's not an assumption, my dear Inori." The queen found herself forced to gulp at that. Something about the way this man pronounced her name made her hair stand on its end. "It is the truth. Had it been the previous Eve I would have to run away from, then I would, without a doubt, perish, for she was a vicious woman. Selfish and merciless. She would have put the world through even a second apocalypse if she had to just to get her revenge. But you? Your priorities lie different. Where Mana sought to control, you seek to protect. You will not sacrifice your people just to catch a running man." He chuckled yet again, visibly amused.

That quality of hers had been but one of the reasons he had pushed his old plan forward so much in the first place. The one about replacing Mana with Inori. Sure, it had been Da'ath decision in the end, but he would have never brought it up to them from the get-go, hadn't he thought it would be the wiser choice. Even he had to eventually see in the end, that Inori's way of ruling was far more suitable to the world he wanted to see than Mana's had been, as unfortunately as it may have sounded. While it was true that there was an enormous technological growth during times of war, a lot of time would, sadly, also be lost once the war was eventually over due to having to rebuild what had been destroyed. Rather than that, a slower yet steady growth of development during peaceful times was far more desirable by comparison. But alas, it seemed like he was getting distracted. In front of him, Eve spoke up again.

"You would do well not to underestimate me, envoy." The pink haired queen warned him angrily, to which the blond man just laughed.

"Oh, could it be that the fake, after struggling so long to be her own person instead of Mana Ouma's mere vessel, has decided that, after her death, her own existence has become meaningless? Tell me, Eve, are you aspiring to become Mana now that she is gone? I wonder, did your reluctance to be a mere vessel lie in the wish to be your own person, or rather to reverse your roles? Perhaps it was not as much about being yourself as much as it was about making Mana _your_ vessel? What a scary thought. Could it be? Will the being known as Yuzuriha Inori remain herself, or will she assume the identity that once meant to assume her own? An interesting development. How curious, indeed."

Inori's eyes widened. What the hell was he even talking about? Her, aspiring to become Mana? No way. Mana would be the last person on earth she would try to become.

"You are wrong." Inori thus said with confidence. "I will never be Mana."

"Are you sure?" The blond man teased her. "Because yesterday, and even just now, it appeared to me as if you were trying to imitate her. But was it really imitation or is something deeper going on? Perhaps it only started as imitation and slowly became your goal instead? To be Mana?"

"Who would want to be her?" Inori spoke, slightly louder this time, perhaps meant to make the envoy finally shut up at last. He didn't even know what he was talking about. That fool. If he had ever been through what she had been through, he wouldn't even joke about this.

But somewhere deep down, she wondered if he might have actually been right. Her rational self wanted to deny it, wanted to tell him he was a liar who didn't know anything and be done with it. But she _knew_ that something inside her had changed. She no longer was the girl she was five years ago. A darkness had found its way into her heart, filling her head with thoughts she would never have had in the past. Thoughts that sometimes shocked her for being cruel and mean, yet sometimes made her even believe she should act on them from time to time. It felt like as if a horrible corruption had oozed into her from her surroundings. Like she had been forced to absorb it alongside the breath she was drawing from the air around her. Now she couldn't help but feel tainted. And that taint could be what would eventually be her undoing. Perhaps it had been the same with Mana, too. Inori might unwillingly travel down the same path, repeating the same mistakes, becoming the same monster. Much to her horror.

And yet, despite knowing that and fearing this outcome, she knew that if everything she held dear was on the line, she would plunge herself headfirst into that darkness if it bore just the slightest possibility of preventing tragedy. If becoming Mana was the price she had to pay to protect Shu, even if it would mean he would come to hate her, she would do it.

Yes, she thought bitterly, she sure had changed for the worst. But it already was too late to revert. This darkness of hers…it had already become a part of her.

"Yuu, I think that's enough, don't you think?" They heard Harune say all of a sudden. Pity clearly rung in her soft voice as she watched Inori lost in thoughts with a sad expression. "There is no need to bully Inori that much, is there?"

"Bullying? Who is bullying?" He turned around to her in surprise.

The brunette assistant sighed at him knowingly. "Come on. You obviously don't believe Inori would be able to become Mana, or else your whole backup plan about running away wouldn't work, right?" She told him with a smirk. "You said you had no intention of dying, yet if it was Mana, you would surely die. This means that if the slightest possibility of Inori becoming Mana actually existed, you would have done everything in your might to prevent it."

Yuu didn't react to her claim immediately, but instead chose to start levitating in the air with folded arms and a brooding expression.

"Smart girl. You figured it out." He gave her the credit she was due, though reluctantly. He would have preferred if Inori would have had to figure it out herself over time. It would have caused her mind to be preoccupied long enough to not bother him as much in the near future. And he had thought it out so well during breakfast, too. Honestly, some assistant she was. But oh well, perhaps it was his fault for not filling her in and having chosen a rather smart underling. He sighed.

"Indeed, there is not the slightest chance Yuzuriha Inori could become like Ouma Mana, simply because it is impossible to recreate a personality completely. Humans, while needing to stay in groups in order to survive, are individualists by nature. Not only does every person look different on the outside, even the inside is always completely unique. Even if you were to clone Ouma Mana, she would not be the same person, unless you happen to infuse her with the same memories and experiences, her soul, so to say. People are shaped by their past actions, influences and their inborn nature. Even if Eve really aspired to become Mana, it would never happen, because no matter how much she would change herself to fit the ideal, there are things beyond her control that she could never change in order to mimic Ouma Mana completely. Thus, there will always only be one Mana, one Inori, one Yuu and even Zoe and Abeline over there, despite looking alike and occasionally even attempting to fool others by switching identities, will never be able to replace one another, because, ultimately, every person is special. You can always copy certain traits, but never a personality as a whole, right Miss Kuhouin?"

"It would appear that way…" The blonde woman said somewhat sadly. She wasn't sure whether Yuu had intentionally asked for her opinion because he knew she had once tried to mimic Mana to gain Gai's attention or not. However, it hadn't worked, which proved the envoy's point, much to her disdain. And not only that, it also meant that now that Gai was dead, she would never find another being like him anywhere in the world. A somewhat depressing thought. However, Inori's mood seemed to have actually improved because of this, much to her annoyance. Which reminded her:

"That aside, to finally get back to the main topic, I get why giving Eve too many orders would be bad, but surely it wouldn't be asking too much to restrain her crystal powers completely? Sure, she would resist once, but you could force the order through and the gain would surely justify the trouble?"

"Normally, I would agree, if it weren't for another safety, you see." Yuu told her, causing Arisa to roll her eyes.

"Another one?"

"Yes. It's, in fact, a simple and straightforward one. Since the rings are not to be used by people standing in the way of progress, they cannot be misused to harm Eve either directly or indirectly, meaning that if an order given to her would cause her to get hurt, all orders will get revoked and Eve will be free unless the ring user issues a new order before she can remove the ring herself. It's a great risk, seeing as you stand at danger of losing not only all the orders you have previously issued, but also control of Eve as a whole. If I were to completely restrain her crystal usage, she would be completely defenseless. If someone were to carelessly attack her in that state, he would immediately cause her to be freed and thus ruin everything."

"So in other words, you can't give her too many orders and you can't give her an order that would cause her to be harmed." Souta wanted to confirm. He wasn't sure he was following the conversation properly for a while now. This was his way of making sure he was still on track.

"Yes and no." Yuu told him with a conflicted expression while massaging the back of his neck. "It's a bit hard to explain but Eve _is_ allowed to get harmed. However, it is strictly prohibited to be the fault of the ring user. For example, I _could_ order her to march into battle as long as there is reason to assume she could handle it. The thing is, as soon as I as the ring user am aware that it would be a suicide mission even for Eve and I send her anyway, as soon as she gets harmed, she is free. Is that understandable?"

"So you have to keep her safety in mind?" Harune asked with curiosity in her voice to which Yuu merely nodded at her.

Arisa couldn't help but let her disappointment show by letting herself fall back on her chair, elbows resting on the table while her head leaned on her hands with eyes narrowed down, blowing out air in frustration."Pah, some controlling device this turns out to be." Next to her, Souta took out his phone after it having vibrated in his pocket for quite some time now and checked silently what all the ruckus was about. Meanwhile, the discussion continued.

"Well, it's meant to be fair for Eve, so…" Yuu decided to put into the system's defense. He personally thought it was quite reasonable it turned out to be that way.

"Nothing about any of this is fair." Inori argued with folded arms, visibly disagreeing with Yuu's statement.

"It actually is, if you take into consideration that Eve is said to be the strongest being on earth, able to take whole armies on by her lonesome self and even the world if she has Adam at her side. If Eve is the strongest, who could put her back on the right path if she strayed from it?" Harune chose to back Yuu up, which the latter appreciated.

"Who even said Eve _has_ to be corrected?" Inori growled at her. "Look at all you people, assuming you get to decide what I should do with my life. In the first place, who gets to decide whether your path is the right one or not in the first place? What makes your opinion worth more than mine?"

"I get your point, I really do, but this has long since reached the point in which it no longer is about you or me, but all of mankind as a whole. As soon as things become this Important, individual opinions eventually stop being relevant. Whether you want to bring the apocalypse or not, you will have to…" Harune told her, looking slightly troubled.

"Not to mention that Da'ath doesn't give a damn about your opinion in the first place." Arisa added with a smirk. "You belonged to them from the moment you were born, so you are nothing but a tool for them to use as they please.

"Just because they _think_ they own me, doesn't mean it is true." Inori merely stated defiantly, knowing fully well that there was only one person she belonged with. And that sure as hell hadn't been Da'ath.

"Uh, guys?" This was the moment Souta apparently had decided that he would have to tell the others about the things he was seeing on his phone right now. From the way his voice sounded, it seemed to be a pretty big deal so everyone turned towards him. "I think you guys might wanna see this:"

He pressed a button on his phone's holo screen and placed the device on the table, pushing it somewhat in the middle of them all so they could see. The holographic screen became bigger and showed them a recording of Shu's broadcast that had apparently aired on all channels just a little while ago. People had uploaded it on youtube and other social media. It had become quite the hot topic online, with many people talking about it all over the net. When the group noticed how serious this was, they all watched the video in utter concentration and silence. The emotions visible on their faces varied with Souta looking worried, Arisa looking troubled, Harune shocked and the twins slightly confused as usual. Yuu, for his part, was smirking with interest while Inori's eyes sparkled with amazement and determination instead.

" _And one more thing: Inori, if you can hear this, rest assured. We are coming."_ With this, the broadcast eventually ended. The rest of the video was filled with some people having a debate about its contents, but nobody really cared about that, so Souta took back his phone and turned it off. An eerie silence swallowed the room as a whole with everyone sinking deep into their own thoughts.

Inori herself didn't care what the others thought about this. For her, this message was all it took to lift her spirits to the max. Yes, she may have been captured and robbed off her freedom, but so what? She wasn't fighting this war alone. Help was on its way. Shu, her friends and her loyal subjects were all rallying up to get her back. Everyone was working hard for her. She would not disappoint them by moping around in a corner. She would fight, too! To go back home and be with everyone again. A determined smile appeared on her lips. Just wait for her, everyone. It won't be long!

"So this is your next move, eh, Ouma Shu? Interesting." Yuu was heard snickering to himself quietly, his mind obviously already taking into account how Shu's movements would affect his greater scheme. He looked as if he was having fun, though the rest didn't appear to share his enthusiasm.

"This…doesn't make any sense to me at all…" Arisa eventually admitted worriedly. "Why would he go after the SDF when it is Da'ath that took away Eve from him? Shouldn't he be attacking loop seven rather than the military?"

"I don't really get it, either." Harune agreed while putting a hand on her chin, deep in thought. "Why would he go and make even more enemies? Shouldn't he already have enough on his plate?"

Next to her, Yuu merely chuckled with closed eyes, shrugging off her lack of understanding with nothing but confidence.

"You two are not looking at the bigger picture here. You are not wrong in your assumption that Adam would probably be most interested in taking back his Eve. Heck, I bet he even really wants to. But yet he isn't. Why would he not attack Da'ath even though it would be to his interest?" He eyed Inori with a knowing smirk, who chose to avert her gaze with folded arms, not wishing to see his confident grin.

"It's because he can't, right, Eve?" When Inori merely answered with silence, Yuu could do little but laugh at her antics and turning his attention back to the two confused ladies instead.

"Ouma Shu currently has many enemies in Tokyo." He started to explain by starting to count with his fingers, raising the first. "First, there is the SDF who believes him to be the terrorist responsible of bringing back the apocalypse virus." He raised the second one. "Then there are Mana's former followers trapped in Loop Seven. All of them being experienced warriors with voids and all the advantages of an evolved human being. While not necessarily enemies of his, he would have to beat them in order to reach Tennozu Fort, which currently acts as Da'ath stronghold." He raised his third finger. "Speaking of which, there is Tennozu Fort, which is held by Da'ath. Soldiers, endlaves and a crystal-reinforced fortress. That's quite the nut to crack." Finally, he raised the last finger. "And to top it all off, there is me. I hold the same king's power as he does, and I am also holding his Eve captive. I am the king piece in that little match of chess we are playing. Taking me down should be his goal."

"But in chess, you can't go straight for the enemy king." Harune realized with a frown.

"You go for the soldiers instead." Arisa agreed with an understanding nod.

"So, in other words, the SDF are the pawns?" Souta wondered out aloud.

"Indeed." The envoy confirmed the knight's thoughts. "They are clueless and weak. They had been Da'ath's pawn since day one of this crisis, having been played for the fools they are, they blindly marched forward in the king's name to fight the enemy's forces. Truly befitting of the role of a pawn." Yuu laughed amusedly.

Inori couldn't help but frown at him, finding his behavior to be quite odd. "You are way too calm about this. It is almost as if you had expected Shu to make that move."

"Well, predicting this was a no-brainer, after all." He told her with a nonchalant shrug as he began levitating in the air, seemingly relaxing. "I already figured that Adam's forces were insufficient for a direct attack on Tennozu Fort, since Ouma Mana and Tsutsugami Gai themselves have confirmed that their force of Genesis had been way larger than Yuzuriha Inori's had been in the void realm. Even if you assume Adam would have gotten backup from his former terrorist friends from five years ago, they would have been mere humans, thus not strong enough to combat Ouma Mana's force, which is probably also why he and Miss Yuzuriha hadn't attacked in all this time despite having been in the need to. Considering this, I believed there were only two legit moves Ouma Shu could have made after I had taken his Eve. The first was to start thinning out his opposition, starting with the weakest link, which is the SDF. The second one was to take a hostage in return, hoping for the possibility of Da'ath agreeing on an exchange."

"Hostage?" Abeline asked in surprise.

"Who would that have been?" Harune wondered with a frown. Who could Shu have abducted that could have held a similar value to Da'ath as Eve held to him?

"It has to be us, right?" Zoe asked cheekily while showing everyone a toothy grin and hugging her twin sister playfully. "If it was me and sis, Yuu-nii would have no choice but to come save us, right?"

Abeline's eyes began sparkling immediately as she put both her hands together in front of her as viewing Yuu as a godly being to whom she was praying. Although the gesture was quite adorable, the envoy himself was seen flinching at those shining eyes as if troubled by them.

"You are absolutely right, sis! If it was Yuu-nii, he would absolutely do that. Right?" As she asked the last question, she closed her eyes happily and tilted her head slightly. Wow, such absolute confidence. It was almost radiating out of her together with her childish innocence and trust. The envoy could only meet both girls' smiles with a nervous and conflicted one of his own, choosing to merely offer them a forced laugh while hoping they wouldn't see the sweat traveling down the back of his neck. He noticed even someone as him didn't quite have it in him to break their hearts by telling them the truth. If Da'ath would even as much as suspect him to attempt trading in Eve for these two girls, he would be turned into shish kebab quicker than you could say "Apocalypse". They had next to no value to Da'ath, as he was perfectly aware.

"That's impossible." It was thus Inori who refuted their theory with a sigh while placing a hand on each of their heads, gently stroking their hair. "Shu would never abduct children." She told them calmly.

Both girls looked up to her with wide eyes, for some reason sounding really disappointed at that. "Awww…"

"Right, he would probably murder them instead." Arisa added to that, which made the girls tense up immediately, hurriedly hiding behind the queen. Inori merely countered Arisa's mocking grin with a disapproving frown of her own.

"No, he certainly would not." Harune argued against her, seeming to share an understanding with Inori. Even Souta seemed to agree with them silently. The blonde princess didn't argue back, apparently feeling as if it wasn't even necessary. It was not as if she cared about either of the girls' opinions.

"Doesn't matter anyway, because luckily for Abeline and Zoey, they wouldn't have been the target anyway." Yuu decided to end this farce quickly and get back to the important topic. His gaze traveled to Arisa as he nodded at her. "It would have been Miss Kuhouin instead."

"Me?" The blonde business woman gave herself mildly surprised, just as her black haired assistant did. "But why? He could have taken me hostage back when he attacked my office the other day if he really wanted to."

"Yes, that is quite odd, indeed." Yuu agreed with her while putting his right hand on his chin with closed eyes, as if trying to figure out the contradiction in his theory. "I cannot quite understand myself why he hadn't done that. Care to explain, Eve?"

As he turned towards the pinkette, said woman merely turned her head away, clearly signaling him that she would tell him jack shit. "Make me." She challenged him, looking at him coldly from the corner of her eyes. If he wanted information, he would have to pay for it.

Souta gulped at that. If Yuu would take the bait, Inori would be forced to tell him that he had originally entered Da'ath as a spy for her and Shu. Whiel he had turned his back on both of them, the envoy and, more importantly Da'ath, would likely not care either way. He would be purged on the spot. Not to mention he would also probably lose Arisa's trust which almost felt even worse.

However, luckily for him, the envoy didn't seem to think the gain would be worth the price he had to pay for it. With a mere shrug, he let her be and faced Arisa again. Souta made sure no one saw how he sighed in relief, though he did notice Inori's eyes on him. They weren't judging him or looking at him with scorn. It was just a normal, calm look. Almost as if she didn't even imply anything with that look at all, except Souta knew fully well what was going through her head. She knew he had betrayed her and Shu and she could have easily exposed him to get rid of another enemy. Yet she hadn't.

He wasn't exactly sure what she intended to say with this. Whether it was to show him that she still cared for him as a friend or that she didn't deem him to be enough of a threat to get rid of on the spot. There was also the possibility that she was aiming to fill his already heavy heart with even more guilt, thus waging some sort of mental warfare with him, maybe even hoping he would change his mind and defect again.

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts. No, he was overthinking this. Inori wasn't that kind of person. He was sure she had done it out of kindness, as she had always had. And even if she hadn't, the fact remained that she had spared him. That in itself was a good thing. He shouldn't overthink this too much. Inori and Shu's main target had been Da'ath all along, not him or Arisa. If he played his cards right, he could stay out of this quarrel and let Da'ath and Shu fight each other to the death while he kept Arisa safe on the sidelines. She would be fine as long as Shu eventually loses, right? If he was lucky, neither he nor Arisa really would have to do anything to make it happen, thus staying out of the line of fire. Plus, he wouldn't have had a hand in killing his old friend that way, either…right?

"Well, doesn't matter." The envoy eventually said, throwing him out of those thoughts immediately. "I am sure there was a reason for their actions. Perhaps the attack on the Kuhouin main office was a mere distraction. They might also have underestimated Miss Kuhouin's role in the organization."

"Her role?" Inori couldn't help but ask with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't she just marionette like GHQ was?"

"Just who are you calling a marionette, huh, puppet?" The blonde princess retorted calmly, yet disapprovingly while sighing at her. "Who do you think I am? I am that guy's boss, you know?" She told her with a smirk full of superiority. Inori's eyes opened up wide in shock as she turned to Yuu to seek confirmation. This was unbelievable!

The man in question could only sigh at her reaction as he put one leg over the other in midair, as if floating in an invisible armchair.

"Don't look that surprised, Eve. Da'ath may be a great organization but like all beings of this world, they, too, need to abide nature's laws. The weak follow the strong. Da'ath needs to be strong to remain in power. In today's society, money dictates everything. It is what makes the world go round. Naturally, even Da'ath needs money to remain in a position of power. When Miss Kuhouin inherited the wealth of the Kuhouin family and decided to cooperate with Da'ath, she naturally became one of the executives. So, yes, since I am the envoy of Da'ath, the one representing and executing their will, Miss Kuhouin is, in a sense, one of my bosses." He explained to her meekly, followed by looking at Arisa casually.

"It appears that explains why they didn't kidnap you. They really did not seem to be aware."

"It would appear that way." The envoy's apparent boss agreed with closed eyes. "Even though it should have been obvious, no? It's like this everywhere in the world. Buy enough shares of a company and you will earn the right to direct it. What a simpleton. And someone like her is to rule the world one day…" She sighed at Inori.

"This doesn't make sense at all…" Inori merely replied while shaking her head in disbelief. "We knew Da'ath was hiding behind the Kuhouin name but wouldn't they have simply replaced her if we had chosen to take her out? Wasn't this how they did it with GHQ?"

"GHQ was different." Yuu chose to explain with a pained expression. "To be frank, it became a trainwreck after the fourth apocalypse. The whole world was putting their eyes on them and Shuichiro Keido, who was in charge, had died as well, so the organization fell into chaos afterwards. It couldn't be fixed, so Da'ath decided to abandon it, together with Saphirah Genomics. There was no use trying to save a sinking ship. The Kuhouin Group is different, though. It is a respectable and resourceful company and one of the few big names behind which Da'ath could hide while operating in Japan. Abandoning it would not be a good option for Da'ath as they are running low on alternatives."

"Not to mention it would put the other executives into a bad spot." Arisa added to the blond man's explanations. "If they keep abandoning other executives in need easily, who could say that the same wouldn't come to happen to them if something bad would happen to them instead? The brass needs to stand together if they have any hopes of leading a successful organization. If everybody only thought of themselves, they wouldn't be able to achieve anything as a group. It's basically business leading 101."

"So, if Shu had chosen to kidnap Miss Kuhouin…" Harune thought out aloud, only to have Yuu finish her sentence for her.

"Then I would have likely had to make a deal with him. Of course, that depends on what the other executives would have told me to do. I cannot decide something like that on my own. Though I doubt they wouldn't have agreed to help. Miss Kuhouin is a valuable asset to Da'ath."

"Even worth giving Eve up for?" Harune asked in surprise, earning a shrug from the white-clad man in return.

"It wouldn't have mattered all that much. Small setbacks are to be expected from time to time. There is always next time." He told her nonchalantly. It was what he believed in at least. Not that he could say that this mindset was currently being represented in the rest of the organization as well.

It was truly regrettable for him, but he had to admit that with how restless Da'ath had become in the meantime, he wasn't exactly sure anymore if they would have agreed with his views. He himself could feel the organization slowly beginning to fall apart and seep away right between his fingers due to internal differences with each other. It was his job to keep the organization together and working. To achieve that, he had to make sure all his superiors were content with the course he had put Da'ath on. If the executives were comparable to the shareholders of a company, he would be the CEO. He had to make Da'ath work for them. Not only did his dream of seeing a new, better world depend on it, his very life may be on the line here as well. Miss Kuhouin may have not been replaceable, but an envoy? Granted, it wouldn't be exactly easy to replace him, but still far from impossible. If they could replace Mana with Inori, what could possibly stop them from doing the same to him if they decided they weren't content with his results?

"I see…" Souta finally piped up again, suddenly seeming to have realized something. "So that's why you made a stop here last night. You wanted to make sure you were here in case Shu attacked, right?"

"Oh? Not bad, Mr. Tamadate." Yuu gave himself impressed as he offered the young knight an approving smirk. "You saw right through me. Though, I didn't lie when I said I miscalculated. While I _did_ intend to keep watch over Miss Kuhouin that night, I certainly hadn't meant to bring so many people. I had hoped to come over after I had brought Eve and the rest back to Tennozu Fort."

"We are sorry…" Abeline and Zoe suddenly cried in unison, as if feeling bad for having let Yuu down. But the man only shook his head at them with an understanding smile.

"No, it was my fault. I should have realized teleporting so many people would be beyond your limits. You are still developing, after all. It was unreasonable for me to expect so much from you two."

"We will try harder next time, right, sis?" Abeline asked her sister in high spirits. Zoe merely nodded in return, eyes sparkling with determination.

"Don't overexert yourselves, though. You will make me and Yuu sad." Harune added with a wink, to which both girls only offered their brightest smiles in return.

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Meanwhile, Inori was watching this scene with a troubled expression. As much as she felt that these two girls were being manipulated by the envoy, she currently had bigger worries on her mind. Lots of new information was presented to her just now. Information she, quite frankly, didn't understand properly. Not due to a problem in the envoy's explanation but rather due to the lack of logic she saw in this all. She was happy that her earlier assumption of Arisa probably holding a bigger role had turned out to be correct, but something was fishy. Namely the reason as to why they had chosen to tell her all this. Why would they? What would they gain from this? She was an enemy who could use this information against them and trust her, she would as soon as the possibility arose. So why? Why tell her? It didn't make sense. Was it a lie meant to fool her? Or is that what she was supposed to think? Was she about to get manipulated just like the twins before her were now? It was obvious that something was going on here, but the problem was finding out _what exactly_ was going on.

"I don't get it…" She mumbled to herself. This made the envoy look at her again.

"Is something the matter, Eve?"

"I said I don't understand you at all. Why would you tell me all this?" She told him while eying him with suspicion.

"What do you mean? Shouldn't I have?" He acted a bit bewildered, scratching the back of his head in wonder.

"It's suspicious."

"Why?"

Why? Was he kidding her? Her expression became angry.

"We are enemies!"

"No, Eve. We really aren't." The blond man in white merely stated and shrugged once more with closed eyes, chuckling at her all the same. "You may view Da'ath as an enemy, but Da'ath will never see you as one. As I said, you are our guest and will be treated as such. True, you may be here against your will, but aside from that, I have no intention to treat you as a captive as long as you don't give me the absolute need to do so. Whether I share confidential information with you or not doesn't matter, either, because sooner than later, you will be working with us anyway. And if you will have to learn about this one day anyway, I might as well start sooner than later, no?"

Inori was seen taking a step back in surprise, clearly not having seen this response coming, but then she clenched her fists in anger, staring into the envoy's calm, icy blue eyes.

This arrogant, self-centered man! How dare he be so full of himself to assume victory before the actual battle had even taken place? Her? Joining Da'ath? Not over her dead body. She didn't care what this man thought he knew about her or Shu. He was wrong. They would fight together and they would prevail. Against him, against Da'ath and even against the world if they needed to. Screw him!

"Oh my. It appears as if I may have upset you with my words, Eve. While I am not exactly sure what could have angered you so much, I will apologize anyway. That being said, I do believe it is time we head for Tennozu Fort already. You should have no objections now that you have eaten your breakfast, right?"

Inori bit on her lower lip. While she had no intention of going anywhere with this man, the order to follow him from yesterday was still active. If he went, she would have to go with him. Even if she hated it. How frustrating it really way. Without waiting for her reply, the envoy turned towards Arisa and Souta before politely bowing to the former.

"Please allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your hospitality, Miss Kuhouin."

"It was nothing. Though if you ever dare to bring this vermin of a man back into my house I will personally see to it that you will go through hell." She retorted with an evil grin. Yuu understood that she wasn't seriously threatening him but rather making a point of him being more careful in the future. She was the newest and younger addition to the executives, but that didn't mean that she was any less of his boss still. She was basically telling him that a bit more respect was in order here. A complaint Yuu would take note of for the future. No more Nanba and Arisa confrontations from now on.

"That would be quite scary, Miss Kuhouin." Yuu responded with a playful smirk of his own. "I will be more careful in the future."

He threw a glance over at Harune who had already called the twins over to properly dress them for the cold outside. Naturally, they were old enough to do that much themselves, but Harune was quite the caring individual and couldn't help making extra sure those two would be warm and comfy for the cold winter weather. Not least due to the younger girls' unfortunate _special condition_. He frowned involuntarily at that. Someday, he would have to put some time aside to try and find a solution to fix their little problem for them. As of now, though, there were more pressing matters to attend to. Hopefully, after the apocalypse would finally be upon them at last, his schedule should look a lot freer to allow him pursuing private matters rather than Da'ath's.

Well, that was if the girls would still stick to him like glue by then anyway. He didn't mind their constant presence as much as he had in the beginning, having gotten quite used to those two little rascals by now, but should they still decide to leave him again one day, he wouldn't object it, either. After all, they would have a better future ahead of them pursuing their own dreams rather than sticking around and helping him with his one all the time.

Well, and then there was also Harune, but he was almost certain she would go her own way as soon as the apocalypse was done and sorted out. She didn't seem like the kind of woman who would waste more time with him than she needed to. She must have more than enough dreams of her own. As she should, he thought. Young people needed dreams and vision. They were the ones who would build the new world together with Adam and Eve, after all. The thought brought a content smile on his lips. May the apocalypse come soon.

While he waited for the girls to get properly dressed to leave, he felt someone tapping his shoulder slightly from behind. He turned around curiously to see Souta looking at him with a serious, yet slightly nervous expression. Wondering what this was about, the envoy smiled politely and asked:

"Yes, Mr. Tamadate? Is something the matter?"

"I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor."

"Hoh?" Yuu raised a brow in interest, his smile growing even wider out of curiosity. "What can this envoy do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could allow me and Arisa to accompany you."

That was the moment everyone in the room, minus the twins looked at him with quite the surprised faces. Arisa even asked, sounding completely bewildered:

"Huh, what? Why, Souta?"

The dark haired man just looked at her seriously, watching her off-guard. She was not even aware that such a carefree man such as Souta was even able to look at her with such intense eyes.

"Yuu said earlier that you could become the target of a kidnapping. If that really is the case, I believe relocating to Tennozu…Fort, was it? Anyway, going there would be quite wise."

"I should have plenty of guards stationed here at the mansion, don't you think?" His boss argued against him, to which he merely shook his head.

"Not good enough." He looked down sadly. "You underestimate Shu's resolve, Arisa. He may have not come yesterday, but that doesn't mean he won't come at all. If he as much as gets a hint of how valuable you are to Da'ath, he will come for you no matter how well you reinforce this place. He will tear this whole mansion down if he has to as long as it gets him closer to Inori again. He would stop at nothing."

"How can you be so sure of that?" She asked him confusedly.

"He was ready to die for her, remember?" He asked her worriedly, which in return made her shut up in realization. He did have a point.

She didn't know, of course, what Souta already knew. Which was that it wasn't a mere coincidence that Shu hadn't come yesterday but actually due to the deal he had made with him. Arisa was to be left alone as long as Souta would provide Shu with information on Da'ath. But that deal was no more, Souta realized. Now that he had turned his back on Shu, the brunette king no longer had to value their little agreement anymore. As soon as he would find out Souta was no longer an ally, he would come for them. Da'ath had taken Inori from him. That's why there was no way he would spare anyone associated with them anymore at this point. Not even Souta. Shu had told him back then himself and Inori had confirmed his worries yesterday. In war, there was no mercy for enemies. Especially not for traitors. They had to go.

"Actually, I find Mr. Tamadate's proposal to be highly beneficial to both sides." Yuu suddenly was heard agreeing to the dark haired man while having a very thoughtful look on his face. "I was already considering suggesting that myself, but there is the problem of you running into Hirohide Nanba and his followers there, so I dropped the thought. However, I would highly recommend you heeding your assistant's advice and relocate to Tennozu Fort with us, so that I could make sure you are safe over there with Eve. With all of Da'ath's VIPs close together, guarding them will be a lot easier for me."

"Urgh…" Arisa grimaced as soon as she heard Nanba's name. The sole thought of running into him gave her the shivers. She really didn't want to see that bastard's face again. "I don't think going that far would be…"

She was interrupted by Souta grabbing her arm, gently, yet determinedly, making her look at him once more.

"Arisa, you told me to protect you, so please put some trust in me. We should go."

Again, the resolve in his eyes took her breath away, leaving her completely speechless. All the objections she had already formed in her mind, suddenly flew out of the window. She even felt her feet losing some of their strength due to this absurd image in front of her. There he stood. Souta, the clumsy idiot she had known for years. A man who never was serious about something for all his life was suddenly standing in front of her with so much confidence that all of hers felt as if it simply crumbled away in front of her. It was weird. Was this really Souta? It turned out that even though he was a clumsy and carefree idiot, even he could become serious if it was about something important to him. It kind of made her happy that this little something turned out to be her safety. Having someone else beside her grandfather or bodyguards care about her well-being was actually quite nice for a change. If Souta tried to take his new role as her knight _this_ seriously, she would be quite a horrible woman to brush him off now. Plus, since she actually liked that unfamiliar confident side of his, she would feel awful if her refusal to believe in him would put such a dent into it, that she would never see it again. That would be quite horrible, she thought, so with a slight blush she merely said:

"O-okay."

His relief was as obvious as it possible could be as he offered her a kind and genuine smile. A sight that, for some reason, made her wish he would show It to her more often. It wasn't his typical nervous or goofy smile, but one of honest happiness. It was somewhat soothing seeing something as pure as that. Something she didn't have to analyze to see a hidden meaning behind it like with most people. It was a gesture she could appreciate for a change. Gestures like these were probably only possible to be worn by simple minded individuals like Souta. If that's the case, being simpleminded could possibly have quite its advantages, huh.

"Great. Wait here. I will grab a coat for you." And with these words, he was already seen running of, looking for some fabric for his lady to wear. She kept watching him go, still not quite able to put a finger on what it was that had actually just happened. One moment, she had absolutely no intention of going with Yuu to Tennozu fort, the next she had already agreed to it. She wasn't usually such a pushover. She frowned at that. Must be Souta's fault. What's up with that strange change in character? Stop catching her off-guard, idiot!

Yuu, for his part, was also watching the young man go with a content smile on his lips. That guy proved to be quite the useful fellow in the end, despite his lack in ability. Thanks to him, guarding Arisa should become way easier for him which is yet another load lifted off his shoulder. He should reward the man sometime. He wondered what he would like. If it was Nanba, he would probably seek power or women. If he was Gai, he would probably seek knowledge. But with Souta, Yuu believed that a simple bottle of sake would probably do just fine. For some reason, his own thought made him chuckle to himself. Quite the interesting fellow that Mr. Tamadate was, indeed. He knew it was him who had originally set up this whole thing with him and Arisa due to his own selfish reasons, but he found himself actually rooting for the guy now. Not just because it was good for Yuu as well, but because he kind of wanted to see him succeed.

Perhaps he should keep an eye out for the guy when the apocalypse stuff was finally settled.

He frowned as an unpleasant thought befell him.

If Mr. Tamadate survived the process of evolution, that was. He seemed to have a good heart, but it wasn't the good who survived the apocalypse.

It was the strong.

"What are you thinking about, Yuu?" Harune's voice pulled him out of his train of thought.

"Nothing, Harune." He told her with a bitter smile. "Only that there is a time for everything. A time to be born and a time to die."

"Huh?" The brunette assistant was caught off-guard by this. "Where did that come from?"

"Nevermind that. Is everyone ready to go?" He chose to change the topic. He looked over at Inori first, who wasn't even acknowledging his presence, simply standing a couple steps away from them, looking the other way and waiting for them to finally go, having no other choice but to follow. The twins were already to his left and right, grabbing each side of his coat with their hands, cheerfully telling him that they were good to go. They were neatly packed into three layers of fabric which made them look more like Eskimos than anything. Yuu actually felt hot just looking at them, but they, for some reason, seemed absolutely fine with it. Well, as long as they were okay, he thought it should be fine. When he looked to his right where Harune stood, he got a small smile and a confirming nod from her, signaling him that she was ready to depart as well. Compared to the twins, she made do with just a thick red scarf and a wool hat. She had thrown over her white Da'ath coat, which should keep her more or less warm for a short while at least.

Souta eventually returned soon after, running towards them with a small pile of clothes in his arms. When Arisa only stared at him wide eyes, asking him why he had brought so many, he merely stated that he didn't know which one she would like to wear, so he had brought more to give her a choice. She sighed at that and simply chose the first one that fell into her hands, calling Souta a fool for worrying over such stupid things. As she was getting dressed, he was seen folding her unwanted coats neatly together and putting them on the table, probably planning to put them back once he would return.

When she noticed that he wasn't getting dressed, she asked him where his coat was, to which he sheepishly replied that he didn't have one while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. That's when she remembered that Souta had been with her ever since she had dragged him to Tennozu Fort the first time. Back when he had been assaulted by Nanba. She had selfishly come to him after work right before he was about to leave and dragged him with her without even waiting for him to grab his stuff, thus he had been walking around with just his office suit ever since. He had never complained even once, so she hadn't even noticed until now. A sudden rush of guilt overcame her as she scolded him for not saying anything until now. She went over to the stack of clothes on the table to see if there might have been anything for him to wear, yet had to make the unfortunate realization that she didn't really have anything he could wear. Even if she were to own unisex coats, they would probably be too small for him, either way. Frustrated, she at least grabbed a scarf and put it around his neck while he blushed madly at the gesture. When she tied the knot a bit too forcefully to show her anger at him, he couldn't help but wince slightly, but thanked her regardless. So much for being reliable, huh. That guy was still the same as always. It was nice that he was so serious about her well-being, but would it kill him to look out for himself as well? How much of an idiot could you be?

"Ready?" Yuu eventually chose to ask them while offering them a patient smile. He would have to lie if he said he hadn't at least been a bit amused watching those two from the sidelines. It had almost seemed like a performance from a duo of standup comedians. He had caught himself almost laughing out loud a few times. Even Inori had watched them with mild interest this whole time.

"Ready." Arisa stated sternly while folding her arms and tapping one foot on the floor repeatedly, clearly being quite angry. She wasn't even sure whether she was angry at herself for having been so selfish as to drag her assistant through the cold like that until now or Souta himself for not having said anything until now. Probably the latter. When in doubt, blame Souta. That always worked.

"Ready…" The man in question agreed sheepishly, while laughing nervously and scratching his cheek in an awkward fashion. He could sense Arisa's aura of irritation just from standing next to her. It seemed like he had messed up yet again, huh.

Yuu merely chuckled at that, followed by looking down at the twins next to him. "Your turn, little doves."

"Right away, Yuu-nii!" Abeline said cheerfully as she and her sister begun extracting their voids. Inori noticed that the wing emblem on their undershirts seemed to not have been a mere random detail. Abeline, who wore the wing that spread out to the right also stood at Yuu's right side and drew out her void with her right hand, while Zoe who wore the emblem of a wing that was spread out to the left, did exactly the same thing on the left side of Yuu. Even drawing out her void with the left hand. It looked awfully coordinated, though to what purpose that had been for Inori didn't know.

Once their hands had left the glowing hole on their respective chests, a silver glove with glowing lines that were arranged in a digital manner was seen adorning their hands. The way these glowing lines decorated those gloves reminded the queen of something she had seen Tsugumi put into Funell once. When asked what it had been, the dark haired hacker girl had told her that it had been a circuit board. It was a bit like with Shu's void, only that the patterns on theirs looked a lot more complicated. Their void also didn't seem to be made of massive crystals like Shu's arm was. From the way it looked to her, the material these voids had been made of must have been some sort of fabric, though, knowing voids, it was probably still crystal-based in the end. She knew herself that crystal-based fabric wasn't impossible to create, even if she had yet to try it herself.

As expected, the voids appeared to be as identical to one another as their owners were to each other. However, there was still a slight difference aside from them only each having one glove of the set. One left, one right. That difference was the color of the circuit lines. They appeared to be surging with power, creating little sparks from time to time as they moved their fingers. Yet, where Abeline's were blue colored, Zoe's were red. And while Abeline cheerfully posed with her void with a bright smile, Inori couldn't help but notice how Zoe instead bit down on her lower lip while trying to hide her left hand behind her back as if ashamed of it. Huh, now that was odd. She wondered what this was all about.

"Alright, who's first?" Abeline asked eagerly while looking at everyone. However, Souta merely eyed the girl worriedly while looking at that new, power-surging void of hers. He obviously wasn't all that eager to get too close to that. Naturally, he held Arisa back, too, obviously questioning the safety of the object. Arisa herself didn't seem to be very confident in the void's harmlessness, either, which is why she very much welcomed Souta's notion to keep her away from it. Watching them with a troubled expression, Harune decided that she should be the one to break the ice and demonstrate some courage to inspire them to go after her.

"I'll be first, Abby." She told the little girl with a gentle smile while stepping forward.

"Right away, big sis!" Following that, Abeline merely put her gloved hand on Harune's stomach. The void made a short crackling noise before letting the lines on it flash up. The very next second, Harune had vanished from existence, with only a few electrical sparks lingering around the ground she had previously stood on. Arisa had let out a short, surprised shriek while SSouta could only stand and stare at this turn of events with wide eyes and his mouth gaping apart.

"She didn't get vaporized, right?" He asked out aloud, laughing nervously at the girls and Yuu who stood in between them.

"Only one way to find out, right?" Abeline asked him with a cute smile, tilting her head slightly as she approached him next. His response to that was to slightly step back from her, visibly afraid.

"Wait! I think we will rather walk, right Arisa?" He turned around to her nervously, glad to see she shared the same nervous smile he currently sported. So it wasn't just him who felt unnerved by this.

"R-right. There must be a better way, or void to bring us there." She agreed with him rather panicky.

However, to their absolute horror, Yuu merely shook his head with a slightly amused chuckle escaping his lips. "De-nied!"

"Whah!"

"Eeeek!"

And with that, Abeline came in touch with Souta and, a bright flash later, neither he, nor Arisa who had clung to him from behind, were to be seen anywhere. All that remained was hot air and the remainder of the void's overflowing energy in form of blue sparks dancing around on the ground.

Inori had watched them with slight amusement, finding some entertainment in their marvelous scaredy-cat show until she was approached by Zoe, too, holding out her gloved hand towards her in the same fashion Abeline had with the others prior.

"You, too, Inori-nee." Timidly, she added: "Don't be afraid. It's not as scary as it looks."

Knowing that there was no use refusing, Inori thus merely nodded at that, offering the girl a smile. "Go ahead, little one. I am not afraid."

Returning the smile, Zoe accepted the queen's consent and touched her arm. Like her sister's void, hers also created a power surge and flashed up. The sparks were red this time, yet the effect was still the same. Inori was gone.

"Yuu-nii is last." Abeline noted as she approached the envoy again, ready to send him off.

"Like always." Zoe added while approaching him as well. Both of them put their gloved hands on each of his arms as they stood next to him.

"I will wait for you on the other side." He told them with a kind smile, placing his hands on their heads and stroking their hair slowly, causing them to giggle. His facial expression became somewhat serious afterwards, though, as he added:

"Remember, girls. It will be cold once you follow me."

They both looked at each other before lowering their gazes worriedly. "Yeah…"

"I know you hate it, but there is no way around it. Will you still go?" He wanted to know of them.

"You are going, right?" Zoe asked him with a weak smile.

He sighed at that. "Yeah. I have to. You don't, though. You could just stay here."

They both shook her head immediately, with Abeline responding: "Where Yuu-nii goes, we go, too."

Another sigh of Yuu followed as he scratched the back of his head in frustration. "Man, I never asked for this…" Though he was sure if Harune was still here, she would disagree. "You saved it, you keep it.", she would say with that motherly smile of hers. Damn these women.

Both girls blew up their cheeks at his remark, angrily yelling at him:

"Take responsibility!"

This almost made him back off with a troubled expression. "Don't make it sound like-…!" He facepalmed and groaned in frustration. "You know what? Nevermind. Let's just go. I don't care anymore." He would take care of those two for as long as it took. Heck, it wasn't like he had even expected them to agree going their own ways in the first place. If they wanted to stick around, he would let them. He already had to take care of Eve anyway, so what difference were a bunch of additional people going to make?

"Right. Off you go!" Abeline cheered as she sent a power surge through her void that effectively teleported him away in a whirl of energy. Once he was gone, Zoe sought eye contact with her sister, offering her a weak smile.

"Now it's just you and me, sis."

"Yeah…" Abeline looked down worriedly, noticing that her hand had begun shaking due to fear of what was to come. Noticing this, Zoe was quick to take hold of it.

"Don't be afraid. Yuu-nii will be there, too."

Her sister's words made Abelien find new resolve, shaking her head with determined eyes, she said: "You are right. It won't be like that time…"

Zoe smiled once she saw her sister finding new strength "Shall we go, Abby?"

"Yes." She responded with a nod, making sure to have a firm hold on her sister's hand before adding. "Yuu-nii is waiting."

And with that, they activated both their voids and vanished in the same way all the other had before them.

The now empty dining hall fell into complete silence.

Whether that was a sign of the long awaited peace to finally come or rather an ill omen heralding the peril that still awaited them all, no one could have said for sure.

No, that was a lie.

Even if it was currently quiet, none of them would be fooled for even just a second. For they all knew.

Behind the scenes, despite the silence, the war went on. And as long as that would be the case, any thoughts of peace would forever be nothing but a childish dream.

Such was the world they lived in. Only once their struggle for dominance over one another would come to an end, would the fires consuming it eventually be satisfied.

The question was, however,…

Once the flames subside and the ashes get blown away in the wind, who will it be that stands victorious to rule over the scorched earth?

And who will it be that has perished in the all-consuming fires instead?


	4. Civil war

* * *

**4\. Civil war**

Teleportation had always been a wondrous thing. It used to catch the queen quite by surprise to close her eyes at one location and open them again to see yet a totally different one.

Alas, having spent many years with crystals and the fast-travel capabilities they provided her with, it was needless to say that she had gotten used to it after all this time.

However, when she opened her eyes again after having been transported by Zoe, she couldn't help but feel utterly bewildered for the first time in years.

Yet not due to surprise of having been teleported, but rather due to the location she had been transported to.

She stood in the middle of a street with nothing but ruined buildings at her left, some partially having been crushed by something that must have been big, yet was nowhere to be seen anymore. In front of her, she could see a _gigantic_ crystal formation in the distance. Undoubtedly that must have been Mana's doing as she could identify her handiwork from a mile away with ease. When she turned around for a second, she spotted yet another cluster of crystals growing out of the ground and reaching heights of skyscrapers. They seemed to have been aligned in no particular system, some growing straight up, while others had grown diagonally upwards. Some branched out into different directions, while others had no branches at all. The function was obvious enough to Inori, though. These crystals acted like an impassable jungle for anyone who wasn't a Genesis who could have simply walked through them. In other words, it was a barrier against humans. Traveling through it would most certainly be very hard for them.

Nothing of this was really surprising or shocking, though. After all, she had been aware that Mana had lived here, so there must have been crystals around. That hadn't been the issue. What _really_ bothered her was what she could see to her right.

A huge crater of an enormous scale, reaching out almost as far as one could see.

An all too familiar crater…

Most people remembered it as ground zero of the second coming of Lost Christmas, but to her it was the place at which she had almost lost Shu once. A bitter flavor spread out in her mouth. She had wanted to never see this wretched place again.

For a second, she thought she could hear his horrible cries of pain in the wind blowing around her and, despite her wishes, her mind provided her with images of him lying down there, bleeding, dying. A hard to swallow lump formed in her throat as she closed her eyes and tried to shake these unwanted memories off her mind. She just wished she could forget…

"I hate this place…" She could hear Souta mumble to himself as he looked down into the pit next to her with clenched fists. She wondered if he was plagued by the same images she had seen just now, too.

"Agreed." Was all she could say to that, her mouth unable to speak any other words regarding this matter. Or so she would have wished at least, but to her dismay, a certain blonde woman was here with them. And just like clockwork, Inori was sure she would spare no second to spout her toxic words at her. It was Arisa Kuhouin, after all. A woman of opportunities. She would be damned if she were to let this one slip through her fingers…

"Really? I like it." She thus announced as she walked up to them. Contrary to them, she just folded her arms in front of her and looked down at the crater with pride.

"Justice was served here." Ah, so there it was. A spoonful of spite with a pinch of pride added to it. Just as Inori had foreseen. A recipe that the young head of the Kuhouin family was famous for. It was a dish the queen had not ordered.

"Nothing but blood was shed here. Blood that is on you, Arisa." The pinkette corrected her harshly, not appreciating the fact that this woman dared to find pride in her actions here.

"Wrong, Inori. That blood was on Shu all along. And thus he paid for it…or was meant to at least." She turned her back on Inori while saying that, obviously disappointed that the brunette man hadn't found his painful death in that giant hole before her.

"You know what the saddest thing about all this is, Arisa?" The queen merely said while looking at the sad scenery once more. "We both could go down there and I could even tear off your arm, but you would never be able to produce and shed enough blood to make up for the amount you have already taken from others."

"Maybe." Arisa admitted with a dry nod. "And yet it will never come close to the amount you will eventually claim. Isn't that right, Eve?"

The queen couldn't bring herself to reply to that, knowing fully well that the blonde might have had a point. Arisa's actions had been abominable and cruel, but who was Inori to talk when she was destined to erase humanity as a whole to mark the start of her Genesis world?

Souta and Harune merely watched these two in silence, getting really tired of their bickering. But while Harune was busy asking herself what could have possibly happened here in the past, Souta's mind was more preoccupied with finding a way to make them stop. His mood was already pretty bad after seeing this place again after all these years, so he could very well do with these girls not taking jabs at each other constantly. In an attempt to solve the problem, he tried changing the subject:

"Why were we transported to here of all places? I thought we were going to Tennozu Fort?"

This made Inori think. Yes, why indeed? Although it's been five years and the surroundings of loop seven had visibly changed with the removal of the remains of the fallen Tokyo tower as well as the virus crystals that had adorned buildings and ground zero alike, she was still able to tell where exactly they must have been. Tennozu High should have been a short distance from here. In fact, the huge crystal formation she could see from here would probably be where Tennozu High should have been. Seeing as to how it was supposed to be their destination, their current position was, indeed, somewhat off.

"That's because I have installed countermeasures against teleportation there. Voids that block other teleportation voids by forming a small no-deploy sphere around the perimeters. Since the twins can't drop us there, they took the nearest landmark they could remember, which is this place." The envoy explained almost immediately after having appeared behind them, startling them a little.

"Such measures weren't present when I visited you last time." Arisa couldn't help but note with a raised brow, causing him to shrug at her with a grin.

"Back then, we would have actually welcomed if Adam and Miss Yuzuriha had showed up there. It would have made things tremendously easier. But now that the goal is to break Adam's will, we can't have him take any shortcuts, right? He will have to travel on the harsh path we set down for him."

"You are never going to break Shu. None of you are able to." Inori calmly stated, although not without narrowing her eyes on the envoy disapprovingly.

"Perhaps. After all, I cannot deny that Adam is quite strong willed and brave. But you would be amazed how many great people visibly crumble once you take that from them which used to give them their strength. In their desire to get it back as soon as possible lies their biggest weakness, for haste leads to mistakes. And mistakes lead to…well, defeat." He grinned at the last bit, causing Inori to experience once more the sensation of anger she wasn't all that fond of.

Realizing that talking any more with the envoy would cause her anger to worsen with no possible way of her relieving it due to her enslavement, she decided to do the only sensible thing and turn around with folded arms, choosing to ignore the envoy with a bitter frown. Said man could only chuckle and shrug at that. He looked disappointed over the fact that the talk was already over, but he would give Eve her wish of ending this here. There was no need to anger her. In fact, it was actually better if her state of mind remained to be positive and happy, as much as such a state could be achieved in her current situation. Inori would be a guest of Da'ath for a while. Best find a way to make her feel as comfortable as humanely possible. It would lead to the least amount of problems.

Speaking of problems…

In a flash, Abeline and Zoe finally appeared next to them. However, the group was slightly bewildered to see these happy and lively girls look back at them with cold eyes, narrowed down and almost seeming as if they were looking through them instead of at them. As if they didn't even care about them or weren't even acknowledging their existence. It was almost as if they had been drained off all their emotions and, quite frankly, a sad sight to look at if one knew how these girls acted normally.

They didn't say anything at all to any of them, just came up to Yuu and wordlessly grabbed one end of his coat each, determined to follow him around wherever he went. It was actually the only thing they seemed to do with utmost diligence, having wasted not a single second after reappearing to locate Yuu and walk over to him like moths attracted to light.

"What's their problem…?" Souta couldn't help but ask with a raised brow, looking at them with folded arms. They heard Yuu sigh at that, scratching the back of his head in something that seemed to be frustration.

"The girls appear to be suffering from a severe case of cyrophobia." He told them. When Souta was seen staring at him in confusion, Arisa chose to help her assistant out with a sigh:

"Fear of the cold."

"Odd. I mean, it _is_ cold, but it's not like they will die in it…" Souta mumbled to himself.

"Right. Phobias are fears that are irrational and often caused by some sort of trauma. No matter how often you reassure them that it is fine, they will never stop fearing it." Harune explained further before Yuu took back the attention.

"I would like to cure it, but there is nothing I can do when I don't know the cause. And, sadly, despite their need to tell me literally anything, no matter if it was relevant or not, the origin of their fear is something they avoid talking about with all their might."

"They have locked their minds off regarding that matter. They don't wish to remember, so there is no way of making them talk about it." Harune added with a sad sigh, obviously feeling bad for these two.

"Poor things." Arisa said with quite some sympathy. Inori was almost surprised to see her capable of that emotion. The pink haired queen walked up to the girls and knelt down next to them, gently placing a hand on each of their heads and stroking their hair slowly. They did not respond, but neither did they fight it. Inori could have also sworn she had seen the corners of their mouths raise in an attempt to smile.

"Their fear is probably related to their death." Inori then explained with her eyes still fixated at the twins.

"Death?" Souta appeared to be shocked for some reason.

"I have seen many traumatic people in the void realm. Some were developed during the war, others had been present right from the beginning, after they had become Genesis." She explained further.

"Child soldiers. Why am I not surprised?" The Kuhouin princess decided to say with a derisive snicker directed at Inori. The latter wondered if Arisa was even aware that, at one point, Tsutsugami Gai had been a child soldier as well. She didn't feel a need to remind her, though, as it would make her appear as if she would actually justify child soldiers, which couldn't be any further from the truth.

"I did not deploy children." She thus was quick to reply while glaring at her. She wouldn't even joke about that. Children didn't belong on a battlefield. No one actually did. "In fact, I have never seen these girls before. They must have been with Mana."

That was when Abeline decided to shake her head. Zoe was the one who responded, though.

"Ran away." Was all she said.

"Hid in crystals." Was then added by Abeline.

"For the whole five years?" Inori asked with a raised brow.

"That must have been lonely." Harune said in a sad voice.

"Not lonely." Zoe said, shaking her head again.

"Together." They both cutely reached one hand out for one another, though while never letting go of Yuu's coat with their other hand.

"That's so…" Souta began saying but stopped halfway and sniffed.

"Are you crying, Mr. Tamadate?" Harune asked with an amused smile. As if finding his reaction not less cute than Abby and Zoe's.

"Crying? Who? Me? You must be joking. I am just so manly that I am allergic to cuteness." He gave himself stubborn.

Arisa nearly broke out into laughter once again at his idiotic responses. Instead, she chose to eye him knowingly and ask:

"So I am not cute?"

Souta appeared to be shocked at her question, showing no hesitation to show her how wrong she was.

"You are the absolute cutest, Arisa!" He said with utmost desperation, taking a step forward and even raising a fist in front of him to show her his seriousness. Arisa and Harune merely shared a mischievous look with one another. Now they had him in their clutches.

"So you are saying being near Miss Kuhouin is the absolute worst?" The brunette girl asked with feigned shock. Gleeful amusement sparkled in her eyes when she saw Souta's stance crumble immediately as he took a step back from surprise.

"W-what…?"

"You just said you were allergic to cuteness, yet I am the cutest, so being near me must surely nearly kill you. I never knew you hated me this much…" Arisa sighed in disappointment, turning away, seemingly out of disappointment, but in actuality more to hide the grin on her face.

That was the moment Souta realized his mistake and grabbed both sides of his head in panic. How could he have screwed up so bad?

"B-but. I didn't mean….argh!"

"Surely that can only mean one thing for him, right?" Harune asked with fake coldness in her voice.

"Aye." Arisa replied coldly. Both of them then turned around to him while forming imaginative "pistols" with their thumb, index and middle fingers, "aiming" at Souta.

"Mr. Tamadate,…" Harune said.

"Souta,…" Arisa said. His eyes opened wide as he dreaded their next words.

"You are fired." They both said simultaneously and "pulled" the trigger, each of them acting out the recoil from the shot in quite the over-dramatic way.

"Nooooooooo!" Souta was seen falling to his knees, screaming in utter despair while still holding his head, obviously still in denial over this whole situation.

Luckily for him, though, his boss and her accomplice decided they had had enough fun for now and began bursting out into a loud and cute laughing session. One which Souta wasn't sure was music to his ears or actual torture to his pride as he slowly realized he had been played for a fool yet again as he watched those girls sharing a small high five with each other.

"Milady's affection is quite a harsh one to receive…" He thus whined in a voice that gave away how defeated he just felt.

For some reason, Arisa tensed up to that. Something he immediately took notice of.

"H-hey, Souta. I thought we were clear on not referring to each other that way?" She asked him with quite the obvious blush on her face. No way, was she embarrassed? A smirk crawled onto his face.

"What could milady possibly speak of?" He thus feigned ignorance as he acted out an overly elegant bow that transcended into a kneeling position. "A sworn knight such as myself would never dare to refer to his Lady as anything else but her title."

Once Arisa noticed all eyes resting on them, she seemed to grow visibly more nervous. "Stop it, Souta. I mean it."

"As your knight in shining armor, I cannot!"

"What shining armor, idiot? You are wearing the cheapest suit in Tokyo and it's wrinkled, too. Do you even know how to iron your clothes?" She quickly retorted, visibly flustered by her knight's embarrassing actions in front of everyone. Souta, still bowing with closed eyes, merely replied:

"It can't be helped since I was forced to sleep in it as milady failed to show her knight the courtesy of providing him with a place to sleep in that mansion of hers the first night he stayed there."

"Idiot! Just sleep wherever you want! I never insisted you had to sleep on a couch!" She yelled now, obviously feeling irritated by the noises of snickering coming from the rest of the group.

Souta gave himself surprised at that as he opened his eyes and brought a hand to his chin, looking as if he was thinking about something as his gaze wandered down to the ground.

"Could it be…? Had milady actually wanted me to join her in her chambers?" Arisa froze the instant she heard him say that as he brought a hand to his forehead, shaking his head in what seemed to be disappointment. "Have I failed to answer my mistress' call? I am a disgrace as a knight. But then again, to take advantage of milady's drunken state at the time…would it really have been appropriate? As the gentlemen I am, surely I could not have done as milady wished, even if she had begged me to, for I respect her far too much as a woman to…"

"You….you…!" The head of the Kuhouin group grabbed her knight by the collar and lifted him up to her level, glaring at him in a mixture of fury and embarrassment. Not that the latter had been any surprise, given from the beet red color her face currently sported.

"Ah, please by gentle, milady…my heart is not yet ready…." He said, acting embarrassed by alternating between looking at the ground and her eyes bashfully.

What followed was an outburst of quite the ashamed "Lady" Arisa lecturing her so-called knight about publicly disgracing her while throwing various insults his way of which he wasn't even sure if they were spoken in Japanese at all, for he surely didn't understand the majority of them which, in hindsight, was probably for the better.

"Are they quite done yet?" Yuu asked as he and the rest quietly watched the display in front of them. He had asked that with narrowed eyes from boredom and arms folded in front of his chest. As much as he thought it was amusing to watch these two, he couldn't quite bring himself to enjoy it since he knew he had things to do and places to be. Next to him, Abeline and Zoe watched the scene in silence. It wasn't clear if they were interested or not, as their expressions didn't give away any emotions whatsoever.

"Shhhhhh!" Harune shushed him as she brought her hands up to her chest and folded them together, watching Souta and Arisa with sparkling eyes. She seemed to enjoy the show at least. Must be some sort of replacement for those drama shows she no longer had time to watch now that she was working for Yuu, the busiest man alive. Said man raised a brow at her actions, but decided to let her be with a shrug.

Inori for her part tried to find enjoyment in all this as much as she could, figuring it was way better to laugh at silly things rather than focusing on the anger and gloom she felt whenever she looked at the envoy. Plus, she couldn't help but silently cheer Souta on as he tried to bond with Arisa more. Fight, Souta!

Shortly after that display of comedy gold, the group of seven eventually got ready to move. As there, sadly, was no vehicular transport available to them, the walk back to Tennozu Fort was to be made on foot which, according to Souta, not only "sucked on ice", but would also take quite some "damn time". Neither of which could have been helped.

Arisa could understand her knight's frustration, though, as she didn't exactly feel comfortable walking through the ruins of Loop seven, either. It was an eerie place. Gloomy and creepy. A ghost town. Only that this one was actually inhabited. Not by ghosts, although Arisa kind of wished it would have been that way. It might have been easier to deal with. After all, ghosts, while scary, couldn't really _do_ much to you. Unlike Genesis.

Genesis could do _quite a lot._

And there were countless of them around.

They lingered around in groups, never sitting alone. Lone Genesis would be easy prey. Even with a good void, you could end up getting surrounded and taken down. No, they sought safety in numbers. It's what had been drilled into them ever since they had joined the war on Mana's side. Under the same banner they might have fought once, but comrades they were still not. You could easily tell from how these groups eyed one another. There were nothing but looks of distrust and contempt to be traded. Wherever Inori looked, all she could see was people competing against each other. No one wanted to look weak. No one wanted to be preyed upon.

Everyone was scared.

The question was: What were the all so scared of when Mana was gone?

While Inori was wondering about that, she noticed how one of these groups approached them with their voids drawn. Their expressions were hostile or at least unfriendly, so she immediately knew something must have been up. With a raised brow, she watched the envoy dealing with the situation.

"Oi, you are that Da'ath big-shot from the fortress, right?" One of them asked him begrudgingly. It was a tall, bulky man with a giant sledge hammer in his hands. This guy sure looked like he meant business, but the blonde man in white kept cool.

"Aye, can I help you with something?"

"He asks if he could help us…" He mockingly repeated the question to his peers with a smirk before eying him angrily again. "Are you messing with me, punk? You bring us here and keep us trapped here, take our queen away to god knows where, then suddenly claim there was a rebellion in which she got hurt so she has to rest for a while. Now you guys are failing to send in enough supplies for everyone." He suddenly lunged forward and lifted Yuu up by his collar. "We are damn hungry, man. Where's the food at? Where is Queen Mana! We want answers! Speak, shrimp!"

However, Yuu had barely been lifted off the ground for more than a second when Abeline and Zoe shifted into action.

"Yuu-nii is in danger." Zoe mumbled as she and her sister summoned their voids in a flash.

"Party suffers no injuries yet." Abeline noted after taking a quick glance behind her at the group before turning around again.

"Understood. No survivors needed. Disposing." These words made shivers travel down Inori, Souta and Arisa's spine. Such severe words, spoken with an absolute lack of emotion. They were as cold as their eyes were, though sadly not as empty, as the group was about to find out.

Before the hostile group could even gasp, both girls used their voids to disappear from sight only to re-appear directly behind them. With lightning like reflexes, they put their gloved hands somewhere on their enemies' bodies, followed by activating their voids. A power surge later, the enemies were nowhere to be seen. In one blink, two enemies had vanished without a trace. Another blink later, another two were cast away. The fifth and last enemy was gone from sight shortly after. The whole ordeal was over before the group had even registered it had started. All that was left for them to see were two young girls helping up the envoy who had fallen to the ground during the action.

"Oh, smart. They don't have to actually fight. Since their void can transport things around as they please, they just sent them away." Souta stated the obvious while hitting his left palm with his fist in epiphany.

"Technically yes. And they normally would have, but not when they are like _this_." Harune explained with a troubled expression as she bit down on her lower lip, undoubtedly speaking of their emotionless state during their exposure to the cold.

"What are you talking about? Isn't that what happened?" Arisa asked with slight confusion in her voice. Inori, too, seemed slightly bewildered by the brunette's words. That was until she could hear the faint noise of people screaming in the distance. However, she couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. It seemed to come from all directions at once, which just couldn't be, unless…

The queen's gaze shot up to the sky where she, indeed, could make out five objects in the distance. The five men from before were screaming their lungs out as they were closing in on the earth's surface.

"I suggest looking away and closing your ears. The sight and the sound are always horrible…" The envoy's assistant instructed them with closed eyes as she proceeded to seal off her ears.

Souta and Arisa could only cover their mouths in shock. You didn't see something like that every day. The fact that they had been teleported like this not even fiveteen minutes ago didn't help, either. To think they had been in the hands of girls who could do this to people without even batting an eye was quite the scary thought to have.

"Tch." With no hesitation whatsoever, Inori reached back with her right arm only to throw something invisible up the very next second. Five crystal tendrils shot out of the concrete ground behind her immediately afterwards, each one of them locking on one of the distant falling men. While Arisa and Harune yelped slightly in surprise at the sudden appearance of crystals right next to them, Inori squinted and concentrated on not missing her targets. Once her tendrils reached the unfortunate men, they wrapped themselves around them. Just a heartbeat later, five lights could be seen traveling down the crystalline ropes with the men appearing on the ground as soon as the lights had reached it. The crystals shattered right afterwards, once they weren't needed any longer.

The men all wheezed heavily as they knelt on the ground looked around in panic, obviously still being in shock. Their leader, sledgehammer-guy, seemed overjoyed to have been rescued.

"Thank you! I knew you would come back to us, my queen!" He yelled and looked around the group, apparently scanning their faces for the one of a certain pink haired tyrant. When he couldn't spot her, he looked confused.

"Huh, that's…odd. Where is Queen Mana?"

Inori frowned at that as she knelt next to the confused man. "Do you not know what happened to Mana?" She asked him.

"Huh, who are you? You seem familiar somehow."

"I am Inori. Nice to meet you."

"I-Inori…? The renegade queen?" He suddenly asked in shock, looking even paler than he had before. He began shaking in fear as he attempted to gain some distance between him and her.

"Relax. I won't hurt you." She tried reassuring him.

"Little does it matter. Once Mana finds out I spoke to you, she will…" His hand went to his throat as if afraid someone would slice it open right about now.

"That might be a little hard for her to do, given how she is dead." Arisa told him sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at his ignorance. An action that got him seriously angry.

"How dare you…!" He spat at her as he got up and tried to approach her, only to have Souta and Inori step in his way.

"Calm down, man. She is telling the truth. Ouma Mana perished a couple of days ago." The black haired man told him the truth. Something the Genesis obviously didn't want to hear.

"Liar! There is no way Mana would have died! She just can't have…!" He yelled at them in denial. His companions next to him looked rather shocked as well.

"And here I thought you would be happy to hear she bit the dust. Wasn't she a monster?" Arisa asked him casually, not even trying to be sensitive about all this.

"Happy…? Is this supposed to be a joke?" They heard the other men grumble at her angrily.

"She was our queen, you dumb bitch! Who would be happy about her death?"

"If this is true, that's freaking terrible…what is to become of us now?" An aura of gloom began laying itself upon them as their gazes met the ground.

"You sure did love your queen…" Inori noticed with a small smile, feeling somewhat moved by their sadness. It appears even someone like Mana was missed by someone. In that case, even if Inori were to walk down the same path, she would still have people following her regardless, right? It was a comforting thought.

"Mana wasn't the perfect queen…" Mr. Sledgehammer responded to her with a dry nod. "But no one expected her to be. She was but a child when she became our princess. God knows it must have been hard on her. But she still never faltered. Some of her decisions might not have been the smartest in hindsight, but I was determined to follow her regardless. Because she was my queen and she was the reason the group held together. It didn't matter whether she even knew my name or not. I was content enough with being of service. To give her something back after taking the lead…"

"She did know your name, Hayashi Tamai." Inori merely told him while gently putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

The stranger looked shocked upon hearing her say his name so suddenly. "How could you know my name?"

"When I became Eve in her stead, I inherited her memories. I know everything she knew, and I know your name, meaning she had known you. In fact, there are a lot of names she knew. Believe it or not, I think she really wanted to be a good queen that cared for her vasalls, even though she lost herself in her personal vendetta against me in the end."

"Queen Mana…" She heard him mutter to himself as he clenched his fists in frustration. "How…how did she die? Did she suffer?" He wanted to know, albeit seeming to force these words out of his mouth more than wanting to say them. Speaking of her death made it all the more real. That was something they obviously didn't want to be true.

Inori, although wanting to answer the man's question, wasn't entirely sure how Mana had come to pass. Her own memories from that day were somewhat foggy…as were Mana's. The moment the identity of Eve had changed had also meant a huge strain on the both of them. Neither of them seemed to picture those moments clearly.

"No, she didn't suffer." Came the answer from Yuu who eventually rejoined the conversation after having listened in silence for a while. "After losing her Adam, Mana's state of mind became unstable. All the pain she had experienced at that point hadn't even been registered by her mind anymore. After the crown was taken from her, she simply grew weaker and weaker…until she passed away in her sleep." He explained with a sigh, burying his hands in his pockets as he looked away in what could have been pity.

"I see. Thank you." The man, Tamai, said with a content nod. "To be honest, I kind of suspected something was wrong. I could tell it didn't add up. How Mana simply disappeared after the rebellion. So you were covering up her death."

"You are taking this better than I thought you would." Yuu told him honestly.

"Because I get it. We are nothing without our queen. If word about her demise got out, chaos would break out. It's in no one's interest for that to happen." He mumbled away in his deep raspy voice.

"It didn't matter whether you followed Mana due to love or fear. Mana was what held the Mananites together. She was the law. Without her, anarchy will break out." Another Genesis added to that with a heavy sigh. Inori bit her lip once she heard him say that.

"There must always be an Eve…" She realized with a frown.

"Is Tsutsugami Gai dead as well?" Tamai asked them with a serious expression, to which Inori could only close her eyes and shake her head slowly to make him understand that he hadn't made it.

"I see…" He told them with clenched teeth. "Without Mana or Gai, nothing will be able to hold this group together anymore. The clans will clash to determine a new leader…civil war is upon us."

"That sounds horrible…" Harune couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"It's the way of the Mananites. The strong lead the weak. Mana was the uncontested leader. With her gone, all sorts of filth will try to claim the position for themselves."

"We need to get ready for the conflict to come…" One of Tamai's group members said, earning him a nod from his leader.

"Yes, we have the advantage right now. No one but us knows of the truth, giving us enough time to find a place to hide and wait for the storm to pass us by. There is no way we would be participating in this madness. I did not survive the void realm to die in this hellhole." He explained to them as he got up. He turned back to Inori before leaving.

"You saved us, Queen Inori, despite us having been enemies once. Thank you. You have a good heart. It reminds me of how our queen used to be. She, unfortunately, lost hers. I hope you never suffer the same fate. Farewell." He said. His underlings gave Inori an appreciating nod as they followed after him.

With this, the small group of five took their leave. The envoy's group watched them leave in silence, especially Inori appearing to be lost in thought. Just what she had needed. More comparisons to Mana. But this was an unusual one. Inori was used to getting compared to Mana's tyrant side, but never before had someone reversed this and called out the good sides they both had shared. It felt odd, to say the least. For the first time, Inori didn't actually know how she was supposed to feel about her connection to Mana.

"Hostile forces retreating." Abeline's voice called everyone back into reality.

"No injuries sustained." Zoe added to that.

"Battle resolved." They both concluded from that and dismissed their voids, followed by each grabbing one end of Yuu's coat once more, causing him to sigh.

"There never was a need for you to attack them in the first place." He told them.

Zoe shook her head in denial. "Yuu-nii was attacked."

Abeline nodded at her sister's words. "We protect."

"They are really scary when they are like this…" Arisa noted with a gulp.

"In an attempt to overcome their fear, their body shuts down emotions completely. Unfortunately, this also affects every other emotion besides fear, too. As a result, they don't feel remorse or pity, either." Harune explained with a sad expression. "It makes them lose their humanity and thus lets them appear like mon-"

Upon noticing the twins flinch at her words, Yuu swiftly called out to Harune. "Stop. Don't call them that."

Noticing her mistake with a shocked expression, she quickly bowed in apology. "I am sorry. I didn't mean-"

"I know. Still, better to avoid them remembering another trauma when they already have to deal with their current one."

"Man, these kids sure are fucked up…" Souta grumbled to himself, not sure whether he should feel bad for them or be afraid of them instead.

"Anyway, we should keep going." The blond man told them after clearing his throat and turning around, leading the way once more. However, he had barely made his first step when he heard Inori's judging voice call out to him. He didn't need to turn around to know she sported the matching expression to go with the voice.

"Why are you starving the Genesis?"

"What could you possibly mean, Eve?" He asked her without stopping to walk.

"The man just now, Tamai, he said Da'ath was failing to send enough supplies. He said they were hungry. Why?" Oh crap. This was troublesome. It appeared as if Eve had entered inquisition mode. Yuu hated inquisition mode. He sighed as he tried to remain patient.

"Why should I know? We have sent them the same amount of food since day one. It is quite the generous amount, too. They shouldn't be starving at all. Something must be going on."

"And you don't want to find out?" The pinkette asked with a raised brow. This was unlike the envoy.

"Under normal circumstances, I would. But unfortunately I have to manage Da'ath as well as babysit an unruly Eve and Adam. I know you may think I am the devil's advocate, but the truth is that I am but a simple man. I simply have no time to look over the Genesis in Loop seven, so I did the only reasonable thing I could have done. I delegated the task."

"To whom?" Inori narrowed her eyes on him.

"Originally, Ouma Mana. Ouma Mana, in turn, ordered Tsutsugami Gai to handle food distribution. Since it had worked fine for weeks, I never even bothered to stick my nose into the affair. However, with them both gone, I was forced to move down the list…" He explained to her with a frown as realization slowly befell him.

"…to Hirohide Nanba." He facepalmed as soon as he had spoken out the name.

"You left Nanba in charge?" Souta asked the man in utter shock.

"Were you out of your mind to let this imbecile handle the situation?" Arisa added to that, sounding not less surprised.

"Well, he _is_ the person with the most influence in loop seven after me and Eve right now. Plus, he has the mental capacity to deal with the task. It is true that his arrogance is a bit of a problem, but he still was the best person left for the job. I find it odd that he must have struggled to keep the Genesis supplied. Something must have happened." He thought as he put a hand on his chin, followed by uttering another sigh. His whole posture just screamed: "What a pain…"

"I will investigate this after I have escorted you to Tennozu Fort safely." He reassured them.

He must have thought saying that would be good enough for Inori. Like hell it was. She was almost sure it was just an empty phrase to let her lay off of him until she forgot. She wouldn't make things this easy for him, but right as she was about to continue the discussion, a familiar voice entered her mind through the crystal ring on her finger.

" _Inori, can you hear me? Are you okay? Please answer me!"_

She stopped walking on the spot out of shock.

It was Shu!

Shu was calling her over the crystal network!

 _I am here!_ , she wanted to reply. Oh, how desperately she wanted to reply, but yet her thoughts were not sent out. The ring, her shackles that bound her to the will of the envoy, did not allow her to. With a frown, Inori recalled all the limitations put on her by the envoy:

_You shall honor the crystal union._

_You shall not remove the ring off your hand, nor harm yourself in a way to remove the ring off your body._

_You shall not harm anyone the ring bearer views as an ally unless it is in self-defense or unless ordered otherwise by the ring-bearer himself._

_You shall follow the ring bearer unless told otherwise._

_You shall not speak over the crystal network._

This damn last rule. Why did it exist? Shu was calling her! She wanted nothing more but to answer the call! Why must fate be this cruel to her?

" _It appears she can't hear us, my king. As unfortunate as it may be."_ She now could hear Jun's voice speaking to Shu. No, you were wrong, Jun! She could hear perfectly fine!

" _Damnit! You are right…it was worth a shot, though._ Shu sighed in disappointment. No, Shu! She was right there! Please, continue speaking! If only to let her hear your voice just for a little while longer….please!

She bit on her lip. It was no use. He couldn't hear her. He would leave even though she really didn't want him to. If only she could speak…

The desire to be heard swelled up inside her and formed a clump in her throat. It was as if all the words she wanted to say had gathered there like an army of soldiers ready to breach the gate of the impenetrable fortress that was her mouth. Before she knew it, they broke out:

"Don't go!" She suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs, with eyes closed and fists clenched in desperation. When she opened them again, she wasn't really surprised that everyone had stopped to stare at her in confusion.

"What's your problem?" Arisa asked her with a sigh full of annoyance. She had one hand on her hip sassily, letting her body do the talking. Her whole posture just screamed: "Could you be any more of a bother?"

"Well, I can actually understand her." Souta, of all people, came to her defense as he looked around somewhat nervously as he gulped. We are pretty close to Tennozu High. I don't really wanna go back there, either."

" _You_ were the one who suggested we should go, remember?" The blonde reminded him with a raised brow, unable to comprehend that strange assistant of hers.

"Because it is the right thing to do. Doesn't make me any happier to return there, though. " He explained to her, earning him a tired shake of the head from his boss in return.

"I am afraid this isn't about our destination, Mr. Tamadate." It was Yuu, who eventually chose to correct Souta's misunderstanding with a smirk. "Eve's words weren't directed at us, but someone else entirely."

"Huh, but who else could she have…." Souta began his sentence in confusion, only to break it off halfway through as he realized what the envoy meant. "Oh, that Genesis thing, right? That stuff with their minds?" He grinned for a second. "That's so cool. I wish I could do that, too."

"Except she didn't really do it with her mind." Harune couldn't help but notice.

"Because she can't. I forbid it." The envoy answered the unspoken question that lingered in her voice with a carefree shrug. "It probably was Adam on the other end, which would explain the desperation in Eve's sudden outburst."

"You won't even let them talk to each other?" The brunette girl seemed surprised to hear that.

"Of course not. The whole point of their separation is for them to crave each other more. The more Adam misses his Eve, the more desperate he will be to gain her back. And the more desperate he gets, the more mistakes he will make. It's all part of the strategy, comrade Harune." The envoy told her with a smirk as he nodded at his own explanation.

"How cruel…" His assistant could only say with a sad expression as she looked at Inori, who in return, didn't even acknowledge any of their existences right now. Rather than that, she was seen staring at the cloudy sky, lost in thought.

Shu was gone.

Her voice hadn't been able to reach him.

Of course she wasn't really surprised about that. She wasn't delusional enough to assume he would hear her just because she yelled loudly. That wasn't the issue she had right now.

It was the emptiness that had stayed behind after Shu's voice had left her. For a moment, his presence had managed to fill her entire mind. She had heard the strength in his voice, his desire to see her, his worry for her well-being. Everything. His presence had been so overwhelming. So reassuring. It had felt as if he had stood right next to her.

But the moment had passed. Shu's voice had left her. She was alone. And where just before the strong, warm and overwhelming presence of Shu had been, there now was just…nothing.

She felt empty.

For the first time since their separation, Inori finally realized not just rationally, but also emotionally, that she could no longer reach Shu. And it scared her. This emptiness she felt right now, it was suffocating. It was as if all her senses were screaming at her all at once to fill this emptiness somehow.

She wanted to see Shu.

She wanted to hear Shu.

She wanted to touch Shu.

Yet she couldn't.

It was the void realm all over again. Only that this time, she couldn't even try to reach Shu. She had also been so busy as a newly fledged queen back then. Everything had been so hectic that she hadn't even had time to think too much about that emptiness. Jun, Hare and everybody else had also all been so supportive of her. Believing in her, comforting her, aiding her…

She missed her friends.

She missed Shu.

….she wanted to go home.

"A-are you crying, Inori?" Souta's shocked voice finally brought her back to her senses. Indeed, now that he mentioned it, she could tell her vision had become blurry from tears. And while they hadn't broken free yet, it was pretty obvious now to anyone that she was about to cry. And she hated herself for it. There she was, Eve. The queen of the Genesis. The strongest woman alive, about to burst into tears just because of some inconvenience. She had felt so confident, so brave when she had heard Shu's announcement earlier, only for it all to get blown away this easily. Sometimes she wished she could go back to how she used to be before she met Shu. She had been empty and life had felt colorless back then, but at least she hadn't had to deal with all these emotions whirling around inside her. While they could be a boon to her at times, especially when she was near Shu and everyone else, at other times, she felt like they were just dragging her down. Just like now.

Oh, what she would give to be like Abeline and Zoe right now. Unshakable. Unbreakable. A fortress of iron will. It would be so much easier.

That was until she heard a voice in her head:

_Idiot. You have come this far to gain your humanity. Don't throw it away so easily, stupid. Get a hold of yourself! Don't let them see your weak side!_

She blinked a few times in surprise. Whose voice had that been? Hers? Well, who else could she have heard in her head, right? It hadn't been the crystal network, that's for sure. Still, something had felt off…

But regardless, the origin of that voice didn't matter as much as its message did. It was right. Even though she might have temporarily lost the right to be her own person after having fought so long to finally have it, it didn't mean it would be gone forever. Her humanity was something very precious and made her who she was. Even if it was painful. Even if it was hard. Who else would fight for herself if not her? She had to be strong here. She would give them no openings! With new determination, she quickly wiped away the tears and sported a strong expression as she took the lead. One might have mistaken her for a completely different person from one moment to the next.

"Let's go already…"

"You were the one who made us wait in the first place…" Arisa mumbled in disdain but decided to give it a rest. It seemed like she didn't like spending too much time on the streets of Loop seven, either.

_Yeah, that's right. You show them, girl!_

Again with that voice. Was that supposed to be that "inner voice" people keep referring to? She wished she could ask someone about it. But alas, it wasn't so bad. In a world in which everything and everybody seemed to work against her, having someone supportive to back her up felt nice. Even if said person turned out to just be made up. Whatever, she would take it.

A content smile appeared on her lips. If it helped her combat the emptiness inside her, so be it.

Since Inori still knew her way around Loop seven, even after all these years, she was easily able to take the lead, effectively showing everyone else her back which worked greatly in her favor since she didn't want to see any of them anyway. In the distance, the crystal towers of the fortress grew taller as they approached it gradually, which the queen took as an indication that she, indeed, was going the right way. However, it wasn`t long until she came to a halt once she noticed a huge gathering of Genesis blocking the street. While they had seen lots of Genesis lingering around Loop seven, this amount sure did seem abnormal. Was there something going on? Inori couldn't help but wonder in silence.

"Urgh, what a pain. Should we move around them?" Souta groaned as he massaged the back of his neck in annoyance, glaring at the Genesis that blocked the way in contempt, but probably only because they were facing away from him and couldn't see him doing so in the first place.

"It would be a small detour, but we could take one of the side streets instead of the main road." Arisa proposed while pointing in the direction of the path she was suggesting them to take. It would delay them by a couple of minutes at best.

Meanwhile, Inori was staring at the gathering of Genesis worriedly. Something was odd about this situation. She could feel the tension among the people in front of her rising. Many had their firsts raised as they yelled words she couldn't quite understand since everyone was speaking at once. Was this merely a demonstration or was there a riot about to start? Before she knew it, these signs caused her instincts as a queen to kick in and called her into action. She had to investigate, find the root of the problem and dissolve the tension before the situation escalated. These may not be her people and they might not want to follow her lead, but now that Mana was gone, _someone_ had to look over them. And who else would do that if not her? She was Eve now. Eve watched over _all_ the Genesis. It was her responsibility. Her duty as queen.

Frowning determinedly, Inori, without turning around to them, merely said: "No. We are checking this out." Then she moved forward without another word.

"Are you fucking ser…" Arisa started to object, but realized Inori wasn't even listening to her at all. Looking at Yuu in hope of some help, she asked. "Would you _please_ talk some sense into that moronic girl?"

But the blond man just snickered with a shrug. "Why, though? Isn't this interesting? It would appear Eve has finally awoken to her calling as queen. There is this…aura around her that wasn't really there before. Don't you want to witness Eve in action with your own eyes for once?"

"No. I really don't." Arisa objected with a very displeased frown, to which Yuu could only sigh in response.

"Such a lack of curiousity." But when he turned towards Inori to speak to her, she was already too far gone to still stop her. Looking back at Arisa in an apologizing manner, he said: "Well, it appears it has become too late to stop her. Might as well see what she will do now, right?"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" The blonde lady groaned at him but eventually calmed down soon after. It couldn't be helped anymore. That's just how the people around her were. One was a dumb monarch, the other one a fanatic fanboy. And don't even get her started on her newly acquired knight…

"Let's get this over with…I hope you know what you are doing, Yuu." She thus said with annoyance.

"I always do." A confident grin from him accompanied that remark as he began trailing behind the queen they were about to lose in the masses. His group followed after him, though some not as willingly as others.

Meanwhile, Inori had kept marching forward, hoping to find the source of the disturbance at the center of the gathering. Of course, finding the center wasn't exactly easy with this many people around, so she merely assumed the direction she was facing would eventually lead her to her destination. However, her advance, as quickly as it had been at the start, eventually got slowed down by the sheer amount of people around her. The further she went, the higher the density became, until it was no longer possible to merely push her way forward by gently shoving people aside. She contemplated ordering people to move, but then she hesitated, asking herself if they even would, and what she was supposed to do about it if they were to decide to simply refuse. Technically, she had full authority over them, but the problem was whether or not these people would accept that. She wouldn't want to possibly add oil to the fire by hitting a nerve and declaring her superiority over them. She didn't become queen to oppress others to begin with.

But as she was pondering this, she felt someone grabbing her arm. Without having time to turn around, her vision turned white for a second before she found herself on top of a building- Shortly after, Souta, Arisa, Harune, Yuu and the twins appeared next to her, making it quite obvious that she had been teleported yet again. For a short while, Inori felt a bit disoriented due to the sudden change of positions, but she soon realized that she hadn't been transported far. Only from down the streets up to the rooftops of a small building that had once been a grocery store. While it, obviously, had long been abandoned by now, that didn't change the fact that it served as a good venture point to overlook the scene from above. In fact, they weren't the only ones on the roof, though the others were far too busy yelling alongside everyone else for them to ever notice the new arrivals.

"Inori-nee needed help." Abeline explained dryly.

"We help." Zoe nodded next to her sister.

Inori raised a brow at this in surprise, as she, quite frankly, hadn't expected to receive any support for her mission whatsoever. If anything, she had thought they would all do their hardest to get in her way instead. This was a pleasant surprise, indeed. Feeling that some proper gratitude was in order, the queen thus offered the girls a small nod and a pat on the head.

"Why, thank you." There was no response from the girls in any way, though if one were to look at it optimistically, you could argue that they must have liked the treatment, since no efforts to brush her hands away had been made.

"Won't they get tired?" Souta asked the envoy with mild surprise in his voice. "Teleporting us around, I mean."

"Power consumption depends on distance traveled." Came the reply from Zoe.

"This is nothing." Abeline told them while shaking her head in indifference.

"Like flipping the page of a book." Her sister agreed stoically, only nodding once.

"Yep. Those two are quite amazing, aren't they?" Harune grinned at them from behind, to which they didn't respond. Inori was sure they would have giggled proudly under normal circumstances.

"Over there seems to be the center of attention." Yuu noticed as he directed the group's attention towards something at the center of the crowd. Indeed, right at the intersection of two streets up ahead, there was a truck surrounded by people with drawn voids. They were facing the rest of the gathered Genesis who kept insulting these people. It was obvious from just looking that these two groups clearly didn't see eye-to-eye about something. That something clearly being the cargo inside that large truck. In the back, people were unloading boxes and placing them down in the middle of the street. Yuu didn't need long to notice that this was a Da'ath truck with Da'ath people unloading food rations meant for the Genesis. Ah, so that's where those supposedly missing rations were. Nanba, Sudou, Ritsu and Miyabi were standing on top of the truck and supervising the distribution.

However, that was where thing started to not add up. If this had been a simple food distribution, why were people so upset? Shouldn't they be happy to finally receive their food? Were they blaming Nanba for being so late? Hm, there must have been more to it, Yuu realized.

"Curious." Was all that left his lips as he began stroking his chin in wonder.

Meanwhile, all around them, the Genesis were raising their fists and yelling insults at Nanba and his gang. Meaningless words which the brunette man shrugged off with ease.

"Greedy snake!"

"Who do you think you are, fucker?"

"I hope you choke on these supplies, you filthy rat!"

From on top of the truck, Nanba merely sighed at them with folded arms, obviously looking down on them.

"That's cute. Rebel supporters demanding fair treatment. You guys should be happy I am even handing out supplies to you at all. Now take your shit or leave it. I'll be happy to pack it back up and bring it back with me. Unlike you guys, I have clansmen who would gladly receive these rations." He smirked at the last bit and shared a knowing look with his friends, who joined in on him with a mischievous snicker.

"Rebels? What rebels?" A man from the front lines asked with a raised brow. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties with a wild crimson-colored mane on his head which he had tried to tame by combing it into a short ponytail at the back. His face was covered in scars from top to bottom, bearing witness to the countless battles he must have fought in his past. Though it was impossible to tell whether he had been fighting men or been mauled by a beast at that point. The amount of facial hair he sported could be seen as measure to hide them, seeing as to how intimidating they made him look, albeit it could have also be entirely possible that he had lacked the means to properly take care of his beard in the first place, given its wild growth. His green eyes, on the other hand, were the exact opposite, radiating the calmness of an adult and coldness of a soldier that had seen death in all various forms and shapes, no matter whether brought to him or brought by him. There was no wildness in them. Just the patience of a hunter. A predator waiting for its prey to slip up, to give him an opening. You would have to be blind to not recognize this man as the seasoned veteran of war he was.

His clothes matched their wearer, looking at least as worn as he had been. His beige trench coat was so torn that he couldn't even wear it properly anymore, instead opting in on using it as some kind of makeshift poncho to have the fabric at least offer him some warmth in this cold. His black pants had fared considerably better, for they were still in one piece, albeit covered in traces of blood and dirt. He spoke in a reasonable manner, yet didn't even try to hide his disapproval in his deep voice.

"You keep using these words, yet I fail to see how we fit the description. None of us rebelled against Mana." He told Nanba with a frown.

"Ah, but Sasaki did. Ain't he your leader? Oh, sorry, former leader now, I guess." Nanba responded with a vile smirk.

"Even so, we never took part in it. How can you punish us for something we have not done?"

"You say that, but isn't it always like this after a fight? The winners demand reparations from the losers. Our clans stopped yours in the rebellion, so it's your duty to pay us war reparations. It's not that hard to understand, no?" The dark haired brunette explained while cleaning his right ear with his pinky finger, visibly bored.

"Now that's just bullshit. Most of us hadn't even known there was a rebellion going on by the time it had been over. Most of us also start to wonder if there had been a rebellion in the first place. Could be that you are making this shit up to bleed us out like the leech you are." The man growled quietly.

"If you don't believe me, go ask Mana yourself. See how far you will get before she slices you up the moment she learns of the fact that you are one of Sasaki's followers."

The red haired man glared at Nanba's provocation, yet wasn't foolish enough to heed it. His gut told him that Nanba was full of shit and his gut feeling was usually right. However, in the off-chance that he was actually telling the truth, relying on said instincts would cause him to lose his head. Mana was not known for making compromises in regards of treason.

Inori's group watched the events unfold with furrowed brows from a safe distance, never even getting noticed by anyone.

"Well, that explains the food shortage…" Arisa noted with folded arms as she sighed, not even surprised about Nanba's scheme, as it seemed.

"I am not really sure I get what he is trying to accomplish. Aren't the Genesis down there his allies? Why starve them?" Harune asked with confusion in her voice. Souta groaned in response.

"Normally, I would say because he is an asshole, but it does seem odd." He couldn't help but shrug. "Even he would not do something that would weaken his position. It hurts to admit it, but he is too smart to do something that foolish."

"That's because he is doing the exact opposite. Or trying to anyway." Yuu told them as he kept watching Nanba with calculating eyes, right hand still on his chin.

"How so?" Harune wanted to know.

"Normally you would be right about all Mananites being allies. On a grander scheme, they would be held together by their queen: Ouma Mana. However, their queen is no more." He shook his head slowly with regret before facing Harune directly. "Do you remember what the guy Eve just saved said?"

She frowned at the memory. The words of that Tamai person had promised a dark future by mentioning war.

"Something about clans clashing with each other in a civil war." She responded.

"What is this about clans, anyway?" Souta mumbled confusedly.

"It's their weird political system." Inori explained to him with a frown. "When Mana became more and more militaristic, so did her followers. Mana sought to have a fearsome army to combat mine, so she rewarded strength with power by forming a hierarchy, thus establishing the law that the strong got to dominate the weak. It was meant to make her vassals stronger, especially the weak, who could no longer hide behind the strong. When individuals realized that they would become easy prey for groups working together, they started to form groups as well. The groups grew by assimilating other groups, thus becoming gangs. Gangs became war bands and war bands eventually grew into clans." She told him with a bitter expression, clearly condemning the system.

Yuu, however, only nodded at her explanation. "It is as Eve says. Before Mana died, there were 7 large clans dominating the Mananite society, of which Nanba and his sidekicks each led one clan of each. Together, they made up little less than half the military strength of the total Mananite army, give or take. On the other hand, three of Tsutsugami Gai's lieutenants held the other half with their respective clans. It was balanced out that way. Seeing as to how neither side could hope of gaining control of the other, it was instead attempted to gain the favor of their queen, Mana."

"The one who held Mana's favor held the most control…" Abeline added to Yuu's explanation.

"Everyone wanted it." Zoe agreed.

"Right. Things were fine as long as the balance of power remained at the 50/50 scale. That changed, however, once Tsutsugami Gai became Adam." Yuu continued while massaging the back of his neck with a frustrated sigh. "Suddenly, Eve's attention shifted solely to his side, and, by extension, also to his lieutenants."

Arisa offered a snide laugh at this, knowing fully well what this suggested. "Knowing Nanba, he would have had none of that, right?"

"Indeed." Yuu nodded. " Making it look like his enemies were staging a rebellion, he justified an attack on Gai's clansmen by eliminating one of Gai's lieutenants before he could gather his troops. Then Nanba gathered his clansmen and eliminated the remaining two clans by overpowering them with sheer numbers. The balance has thus shifted into his favor ever since. And with Mana now gone…"

"He holds absolute control." Harune realized with a shocked expression. What a scary thought to have. A man like Nanba? In absolute control of the Mananites? What a nightmare. She shuddered just imagining what terrors he could bring with so much power.

Inori, on the other hand, eyed the envoy suspiciously. While his words didn't seem to be lies, they also didn't seem to be entirely truthful, either. She mostly found it strange how he implied that Mana merely sat and watched while her armies engaged in a war with each other without intervening at all. It may have been true that Mana had seldom fought in person, but she was a dominating person by nature. Inori had trouble picturing Mana doing anything but stopping both sides with force immediately to end such nonsense. To lose control over her own people like this…it didn't seem like her.

Then again, it could be that it all had happened during Mana's attempted rebellion against Da'ath. Most of her memories from back then were little more than a blur shortly after the rebellion had commenced. The only thing Inori knew for sure was that Mana had been in agony due to the poison and that she had been kidnapped by Nanba before he had killed Gai. Everything else was filled with her shifting in and out from unconsciousness and therefore pretty much up to interpretation. Troublesome.

"Still doesn't explain why he is starving them, though." The queen mumbled to herself as she shook her head to clear up her thoughts a bit. It was no use questioning the envoy's story when she had no basis to doubt him other than her dislike for him. Even if she were to call him out on his supposed charade, he would just shrug it off and accuse her of being paranoid.

"Inori has a point. If he has won the power struggle, why bother with them at all? Couldn`t he just crush them…?" Souta agreed with Inori with a troubled look.

"It would be like him. That's for sure." Arisa added with a frown.

"You are not wrong, but you got to keep in mind that this is Nanba we are talking about." Yuu grinned at them and shrugged as if to say "It can't be helped", before he continued:

"He will always want more, even if he has already won. His greed for power is as limitless as the universe itself."

The queen had to agree that the envoy had had a point. Nanba was a man who wanted to maximize his gain in any way possible. If you wanted to understand Nanba, you needed to think like him, meaning…

"Killing his opposition would be easier and faster, but it would also mean that they would be gone for good. Instead, he wants to assimilate them over time to make his army grow…?" The pinkette mused as she held her chin in her hand thoughtfully. Yuu gave himself impressed, offering her a wide smile.

"Exactly. By joining one of his controlled clans instead, they would get all the supplies they needed, thus he is creating a blackmailing situation in which the options are to join him and get supplies, or refuse to and go hungry. It might take a while but with patience, he is sure to eventually convert all of them. Seems like he has finally come to understand that death is a giant waste of potential. It's good that he managed to listen, despite having such an awfully thick skull." He nodded in approval.

Inori frowned as she directed her gaze back towards Nanba and the rioting Genesis. This was unacceptable. People were starving due to a single man's greed. _Her_ people, no less. The moment she inherited Mana's crown, so did she inherit her people and responsibilities. As Eve, as their queen, she had to save them, but what could she do in her current state of being controlled? She wished she could just go down there, dissolve all these stupid clans and abolish Mana's now obsolete law of domination. There was no need for such things in her and Shu's kingdom, but it wasn't that easy. She eyed the envoy from the corner of her eyes.

Thanks to his rules, she couldn't really intervene and Nanba knew that. Unless the envoy allowed it, all Inori could throw at the tyrant brunette were words of disapproval. And while those could hurt, the pink haired queen was positive that someone like Nanba would shrug them off with ease, being used to hearing trash talk all day long. She shook her head in frustration.

No, this abominable man only understood the language of violence. She would need to show dominance over him to not only stop him, but everyone who followed him. But the envoy…would he allow it? Frowning in uncertainty, Inori realized that the only thing she could do was ask and hope for the best.

"Yuu…"

"Yes?" The envoy perked up with interest after hearing her calling him by his name suddenly.

"Tell me, do you see yourself as a supporter of my rule?"

Hearing that, Yuu could only chuckle while he shrugged as if his answer was obvious. "But of course, Eve. You were chosen by the queen's crown to be the rightful bearer of the title of Eve. You will and shall be the ruler of the entire world. Your rule and your law are absolute. The fact that I have used these rings on you might be unfortunate, but does not change the fact that I hold the greatest respect for you." He told her with a small, elegant bow.

Inori eyed him coldly, seeing through these words easily. They were nothing but words, after all. Things that could always be warped and twisted around by their user however they wanted them to, not even necessarily required to speak of the truth, even. They were especially dangerous in the hands of the envoy, who has come to master their use, even being as proficient with them to use them as his weapon at times. Just how like mages in fantasy stories could spell doom with their words, so could the envoy bring despair with the use of his mouth alone. She would have to be a fool to believe anything he said, for he was sure to always say what she wanted to hear rather than what she needed to know. Still, his response would suffice for now.

"Then you understand what I must do now, right?" She asked him as she slowly directed her hand to point at the commotion below them.

"Technically, there is no real need for you to intervene in this." Yuu told her with a tired sigh as he walked up to her to take a look below together with her.

"Nanba's methods may be crude, but it is true that his actions would unite the clans. If you were to make sure you controlled him, you could easily take control of the entirety of Mana's former followers through him." He explained to her with a smirk.

"He would become a marionette." Harune thought out aloud in realization.

"A dangerous marionette." Arisa added with a displeased frown as she looked away with folded arms, not liking the idea one bit.

"Exactly." Inori agreed. "Giving someone like Nanba too much power is only asking for trouble. Besides, he is not a king. He does not deserve the right to stand above others."

"You could always make him one…?" Yuu suggested with an indifferent shrug. "We both know you will have to eventually. It would be foolish to assume you could rule the world with Adam alone. It is far too big to manage on your own."

That's when Arisa couldn't help but laugh at his idea. "Nanba? King? I hate to admit it, but even Ouma is a better king than that imbecile ever will be."

"Disregarding Arisa's unqualified remark about Shu, she has a point about Nanba not having what it takes to be king." Inori told Yuu while making a small hand gesture that was meant to brush off the blonde's irrelevant attempt at badmouthing Shu.

"Does he not?" Yuu asked her with a raised brow as he looked back at Nanba once more. "Take another look, Eve. He singlehandedly managed to gather the support of countless Genesis who decided to follow his command. He is a person who leads, thus qualifying him as a king. Whether he would be a good or bad one is uncertain, but the qualification is there."

"And why would _you_ want to see him become king? Why do you care?" Souta couldn't help but ask him, thinking it really suspicious for someone to actually support Nanba's candidacy for kingship, even if just as a subordinate one of Adam and Eve.

"I see potential for what it is, Mr. Tamedate." Yuu told him calmly. "If used properly, Hirohide Nanba could be useful for managing faraway assets in the name of Eve. He has the suitable abilities for the job. All that's left is a bit of training in the loyalty department. Hardly a problem, I say, given how even the wildest of dogs can be tamed into the most loyal servants mankind has ever seen." He shrugged at that, leaving the offer for Inori to grab hold of, if she so desired. She, however, didn't even need to think about it.

"No. Hirohide Nanba shall never be king. If I will ever consider appointing a governor to act under me, I will appoint people I trust only. He is not one of them. His rise in influence among my people has to be stopped, so will you support my decision or not?" She asked him as she eyed him seriously, making clear that she was done talking about this nonsense. Appointing Nanba as king? A criminal she had banished from her kingdom herself? Even _if_ he could be controlled, Inori didn't _want_ anything to do with him.

Seeing even Souta and Arisa backing Inori up with approving nods, Yuu gave up without resistance. Establishing a Da'ath member as a key figure in Eve's new governmental system could have been beneficial for the future, especially if said individual was as easy to manipulate as Nanba was. Through him, Da'ath could have gained an easy access route into the political scene of the new world. Gaining such leverage could have helped Yuu with easing Da'ath's growing unrest temporarily so that he could focus more on what was really important instead of babysiting the executives whenever they decided to throw another tantrum every time things didn't go exactly their way. Of course it wasn't that easy with Eve, huh. He had figured as much.

"Pity, but it is your call, after all. Go on then, do what you must." With a dismissive wave of his hand, he told her to do as she liked. Slightly surprised to see that it had been this easy, Inori couldn't help but blink at him a few times. She had thought he would try to make this a real pain for her.

Her reaction caused him to close his eyes, opening only one to look at her with a grin. "Don't be so surprised, Eve. I am not your enemy and am not controlling you because I particularly enjoy it. All I am trying to do is making us all move forward so that we can achieve our goals. As long as you won't stand in the way of Da'ath, I will permit you to do whatever you want." That explanation was followed by yet another carefree shrug.

"Well, I appreciate your cooperation…" Inori couldn't help but mumble in response., not really sure how to feel about this. It was nice to have gotten what she wanted, but it was fishy that it had been so easy regardless. There was not a single speck of trust for the envoy to be found in her heart, so naturally she assumed he followed a hidden agenda. And with how hard to read he was, Inori was extra cautious to not get caught in any traps.

Still, being overly paranoid might not be the right course of action. Mana had been a very paranoid woman and everybody knew how that had turned out for her. It was probably best to make use of this opportunity for now and worry about the envoy's future actions later. Right as she was about to turn around and confront Nanba, though, Yuu addressed her again:

"One thing, Eve:…" He said with a calm voice, yet with a serious expression. "I don't know what you are planning to do, but Da'ath needs those Genesis alive and functioning, so please refrain from killing them unless it is absolutely necessary."

She frowned. "Even Nanba?"

" _Especially_ Nanba. I don't need a civil war to determine his successor. Try resolving this matter without any casualties, if you will."

The queen eyed him from the corner of her eyes, clearly not happy about his demands, but knowing there was no way she could oppose him yet, she did the only thing she could, which was accept.

"…fine."

It wasn't that bad of a condition in the first place, given how she had wanted to avoid using force on them from the get go. Aside from Nanba whom she would rather see dead right about now, of course. He was simply too dangerous to keep around unsupervised, and unfortunately, she was in no position to keep him under watch.

Not to mention that now that she absolutely knew Shu was preparing himself to come for her, having Nanba lurking around was simply too risky. Yesterday, she had gone out of her way to put some emphasis on how she would respond if she were to learn that Shu had been harmed, but, somehow, she still had her doubts that Nanba fully understood the gravity of that sin yet.

" _Perhaps a reminder was in order."_ Was what she thought as she raised a hand to summon her full crystal powers, happy to see that they were no longer restricted by the envoy, even if just temporarily.

-GC-

Meanwhile, the conflict between Nanba and the Mananite clan called "Retribution" was starting to heat up, with them drawing their voids and starting to taunt the guards Nanba had brought with him.

"Fuck you, Nanba!"

"We have had enough of your bullshit. You are not the spokesperson of Mana!"

"Yeah! Bring out either Gai or the queen herself or get the fuck out of here! We do not answer to you!"

Were the things they were yelling. Nanba, however, merely clicked his fingers and his guards responded by cheering a battle cry and assuming an offensive battle formation, clearly meant to intimidate the hostile clan. With a shield wall raised, some of his soldiers standing behind the defenders began readying themselves for an onslaught. When a few foolish ones ignored their shift in formation, they got caught by the shieldwall and held in place long enough for the second row to cut them down with swift strikes to their vitals. Seeing them dropping dead to the enemy's feet so easily clearly had its desired effect of planting hesitation into the hearts of the Retribution clan, but the man with the scarred face from before did not give himself impressed by that.

He drew his void, appearing in design to be an old-fashioned musket, and aimed its barrel at Nanba with cold eyes. It was a typically ivory colored weapon with elegant, circular carvings all over it, making it appear more like a decorative object than an actual weapon. The carvings also shone in a cool blue color that was flickering around like a flame dancing in the wind, illuminating the area around the man to such an extent that everything near him was engulfed in that blue light of his. Once he had aimed the weapon at his target, he proceeded to pull back the hammer on his gun which suddenly caused the color of the light to change. Gradually, it got brighter and turned from a dark blue into a lighter one, then changed into a teal one, followed by yellow which soon became orange and eventually a dangerous gleaming red. Steam began coming out of all the nooks and crannies of the gun, implying that some serious heat was building up in there. When he finally pulled the trigger, a glowing hot ball of plasma shot out of the barrel, hitting the truck Nanba was standing on right in front of his feet, making him step back in shock to avoid the plasma that had splashed around near the impact zone and was now melting the hull of the truck at an alarming rate. It was so hot that the steel of the void's attached bayonet had begun glowing in a bright red as soon as the plasma had shot out right above it. Stabbing someone with it in that state would not only create a nasty wound, but also some mean burns.

"Don't get cocky up there, Nanba, hiding behind your stupid clansmen. Why don't you come down here and settle this with me like a man? Winner gets to keep _all_ the supplies." He challenged the brunette man while pulling back the lock which was normally an action meant to put back some black powder into the gun for the next shot to be taken. However, instead of putting something in, pulling back the lock merely caused the musket to emit a gust of steam and fumes for a second before he sealed it up again. Shortly after, the musket's carvings which had stopped glowing after taking the first shot, slowly began coming back to life again, having returned to their initial dark blue and flickering sheen, apparently ready to be fired once more with no need to reload a bullet whatsoever.

The glasses-wearing man only laughed at that proposal, raising both hands to each of his sides to show him he really didn't give a damn. "Interesting idea, Kyoma, but why should I accept? I would gain nothing at all, since I could as well just take it all with me even without fighting you."

Kyoma grumbled at that, eying Nanba sharply. "Are you really that much of a coward?"

"Bravery and foolishness go hand in hand together more often than not." The brunette man merely shook his head with a confident grin as he pointed on his head with his right index finger. "I am more of the kind that carefully weighs his possible profits against all the risks. Your proposal just ain't gonna cut it, man."

Sudou laughed as he heard this. "You heard the man, Kyoma. Now take the supplies we are offering you and scram before we all decide to be less friendly with y'all." He offered the red haired man a dismissive wave of his hand, as if he would shoo away a mere street dog.

"I don't even understand why we are still giving you anything at all at this point. We aren't a charity, after all…" Miyabi added to that with a sigh, stemming both her hands against her hips while shaking her head disapprovingly.

"You actually have the gall to call this charity? Not even half the clan will be able to live on these supplies, you…you…!" Kyoma growled at her, visibly losing his patience with these obnoxious people. He looked back at his clansmen who were all cheering agreeing shouts at his back. Should he order an attack? They would never win, given their numbers, but if it really came down to this, then it was better to strike now than in a few weeks when they would all be too weak to even still raise their voids in resistance. This was what Nanba seemed to be after in the first place, he assumed.

But right as he was pondering his options more carefully, he was surprised to see a crystal tendril shooting down from the roof of the building to his right. It crashed against the roof of the truck Nanba's group was standing on, visibly catching them by surprise as well. It wasn't long after that until they saw a small light traveling down the crystal structure with a certain pink haired woman appearing at its end, eying Nanba coldly with her crimson eyes.

"Inori…?" Ritsu exclaimed confusedly while taking a step back. "What is she doing he-"

The rioting Genesis immediately quieted down when they saw who it was that had showed up in front of them all of a sudden.

"Q-queen Inori…?"

"An invasion!? When did she-"

"T-to arms!"

They all yelled at the same time and in panic, collectively calling their voids into their hands and raising them in defense before the queen turned around to face them while raising her hands in a calming manner.

"Don't be afraid! I have not come to harm you!" She quickly said, catching them by surprise. "Rather than harming you, I have come to end the madness this man is causing!" She gestured towards Nanba accusingly, effectively gaining the interest of the rioting Genesis. They lowered their weapons slightly, albeit with wary looks on their faces, ready to raise them in a moment's notice should this turn out to be a trick.

"Well, this certainly is an…unexpected visit you are paying us, Queen Inori." Nanba said with a forced smile as he addressed Inori who only eyed him harshly as she walked up to him.

"You will cease this nonsense immediately." She got straight to the point.

"Nonsense? What nonsense?" He feigned ignorance as he lifted his hands to his sides in a clueless fashion.

"You know exactly what I am talking about here, so don't play your games with me. I am not in the mood, as you can surely imagine." The pinkette responded with eyes narrowed down threateningly.

He sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "You know, you would be better off not sticking your pretty nose into things that doesn't concern you. This is a Mananite matter, not yours."

"And _you_ would be better off not sticking your ugly one into matters that concern royalty only." She responded while shoving her finger into his face, pushing him back ever so slightly by the nose. "You are no king, Nanba. You never will be. You have no authority to treat your brethren the way you are, so I am putting an end to it this instant."

"That's cute." Nanba said while pushing her hand off his face with a smug grin. "We both know you are the envoy's lapdog right now, so I am afraid your jurisdiction regarding this matter might be a bit…limited."

"Oh, you think?" She threw his smug look right back at him before slapping him right across the face with enough force to let the sound it produced be heard echoing off the walls of the surrounding buildings. "I think I might have news for you."

With a groan, Nanba's smug grin had quickly vanished in favor of a bitter scowl. Slowly turning his face back towards her, he began massaging his cheek sullenly as he realized: "So you have the envoy's support, huh. Great to see the man knows where his loyalties lie, 'cause it sure ain't lying with his comrades."

The Genesis around them had gasped at Inori's actions. Seeing Nanba getting hurt, yet his guards not intervening to save him was a sight Kyoma's clansmen found to be rather inspiring. She had taken his invulnerable position from him, earning her some approving cheers in return. At least at first, before Nanba sent a cold glare their way, followed by smirking darkly at them.

"Cheering for the enemy, aren't we? Have you all already forgotten that this woman had always been Mana's nemesis? That she had slaughtered countless of you with her very own hands?"

His words had the expected effect of shutting them up immediately as they looked down in guilt or fear.

"Don't listen to this man, Genesis. We may have been at war once, but it had never been my intention to fight you. All I ever did was defending my kingdom from Mana. But the war is over. We no longer need to be hostile towards one another. We can all embrace peace together!" She tried to appeal to them earnestly.

Kyoma couldn't help but raise a brow questioningly once he had heard her say that. "The war is over? Since when? What has happened?"

Inori faced the man standing below her and offered him a look of sympathy. "I am sorry if this comes as a shocking surprise, but you all deserve to know the truth Nanba is trying to hide from you." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before opening them once more, facing the Genesis determinedly as she spoke loud and clearly:

"Queen Mana is dead. I am now Eve."

The reactions to that reveal were about as chaotic as you would expect. The people before Inori caused an outrage.

"Impossible!"

"It must be a lie!"

"How could this happen?"

Nanba watched the chaos unfold with a regretful expression. Well, there goes his bluff, he thought, but then a new thought crossed his mind and a smirk found its way back on his face as he began circling Inori confidently.

"Yes, Inori. How could this happen, indeed. Mana was the all-powerful Eve, the only one who could have killed her, would have been someone of equal strength. Someone like you."

Catching on to Nanba's thought-process, Miyabi began smirking as well as she pointed her right index finger at Inori accusingly.

"He's right. It was you who killed Mana, wasn't it? You murdered our queen!"

Not seeing any reason to deny these claims, Inori merely narrowed her eyes at them and asked drily: "So…?"

"She ain't even denying it!" Ritsu exclaimed in feigned shock.

"And now she comes to claim her prize, expecting you all to become her followers instead of Mana, whom she had murdered in cold blood, isn't that right, Inori?" Nanba added to that as he asked Inori provokingly. Whether Inori liked it or not, she couldn't deny that it did sound somewhat fishy. She was not surprised to see people eying her warily, clearly not trusting her for the most part. She had to consider her following words carefully to win them over. She couldn't leave these people to Nanba!

"If they don't want to follow me, then they don't have to…" Inori responded calmly to not upset anyone. "But as Eve it is my responsibility to at least offer them my protection." She turned away from Nanba and faced the Genesis in front of her seriously, yet with an aura of gentleness around her. The last thing she wanted them to feel was fear, so she banished all the anger and hate she felt towards Nanba out of her voice, letting merely a honest, caring and slightly stern aspect remain. Like a mother speaking to her children, she addressed them with a mixture of sympathy and confidence:

"Yes, I killed Mana, but it was not by choice. She came for me and I protected myself and my people from her. To protect everything dear to me had always been my intention from the very start. It is why I became queen and why people chose to follow me instead of Mana. And I would protect you all as well if you were to accept me as your new queen. If you can forgive my crime against Mana, then I will forgive all your crimes against my people in return. We could start over again and end the era of war in favor for an era of peace. We could stand together as one instead of being divided as you stand today. No more clans, no more fighting over dominance, no oppression by stronger people than you. You could at long last cast away the shackles people like Nanba try to force upon you and instead be free in the kingdom of Eden." She spoke to them with utmost sincerity, the noble and powerful aura of a queen all around her, mixing together with her caring aspect of a mother, thus creating the image she had been known for by her people. The kind queen.

It was inspiring to see a single woman radiate so much strength and resolve with nothing but her words alone. Unlike Nanba, no display of strength in form of armed guards were required and no threatening crystals were raised. All that stood before them was a young woman making an oath to always protect those who needed it as long as they would follow her ways. To people who had only known the law of the strongest for years, seeing and hearing something so pure was downright refreshing. The prospect to live in a peaceful and orderly society again like civilized human beings instead of this caveman-ish life they were currently leading did find some support in many a Genesis' heart. Especially in the ones whose stomachs were already growling from hunger.

The loss of Mana may have come as a surprise to them and was a harsh one to bear for many of them, especially those who had been around since the initial Lost Christmas, but they lived in times in which you had to adapt to changes before you find yourself getting crushed by them. The amount of love the Mananites felt for their queen had varied from person to person, but while everyone of them might have respected her to at least a certain degree, everyone accepted that with her death, the time to pick their new leader was upon them. Grieving had to come later.

The choice itself felt like a rather straightforward one at first glance, but like with many things, it wasn't that simple deep down. There were many things to consider regarding their future. For once, Nanba still held the larger army and who would guarantee them that he wouldn't just kill them all, once they decided to follow Inori instead of remaining independent? Then there were also those among them who felt they owed Mana a lot, especially during the early days, so the obligation to honor her wishes was also there, even if she was supposedly dead. Would she have wanted them to join up with Inori just like that?

The answer to this was a complicated one, since while it was undeniable that the mad queen had hated Inori with all her heart, it was also true that she would never have had allowed someone like Nanba to take the wheel, either. They knew deep down, that even though Mana had fallen into a rage that had consumed her over the years, at the very core of herself, she had really wished for her people to be happy and well. For that is how she had used to be before the war against Inori had started in the first place. If following Inori would prevent Nanba from oppressing them any further, maybe Mana would have actually wished for them to take her up on the offer…?

"She is saying all this now, but who knows what her followers would do once you actually fell for her words. Sounds to me like she is just trying to let you all lower your guards so that her soldiers could kill you all in your sleep as soon as you enter her camp in good faith. Can you all truly trust someone who killed your previous queen in cold blood just to gain authority over you?" Nanba argued against her coldly, as he noticed the favor slightly shifting into Inori's direction. He had to plant the seeds of doubt fast, before it was too late. Unfortunately for him, the redheaded musketeer decided to speak up again, after having silently watched the situation unfold for a while now.

"At least she is an honest person, unlike you, Nanba. She came to us and told us the truth about Mana where you have only fed us lies about her having been injured and thus unable to lead until she was healed. You used our respect for Mana to oppress us by making us believe you enforced her will, when we, in fact, should have known better." He grumbled at him as he faced the Genesis as well, raising his hands to gain their attention.

"We all should have seen the news of Mana's death coming from the signs we all have already seen for a while now. The fact that none of us could hear her thoughts over the crystal network. The fact that she wouldn't seem to heal up for days. The fact that no one else but Nanba had ever been able to confirm what really had happened during that so called rebellion of his. It had all been too fishy right from the beginning. We had assumed Mana must have merely been disconnected from the crystal network, but why would Eve, who is the origin of all crystals and controlled them with a mere wave of her hand ever be disconnected from the network in the first place? If she was so harshly injured to lose consciousness, then shouldn't someone with a healing void already have healed her by now? Nanba claims he is restricting our access to Tennozu Fort due to Mana having forbidden us to go there, but isn't it just so that we can't ask Da'ath about the truth? It all makes sense now."

He turned around again and pointed at Nanba angrily. "Nanba had lied to us from the very beginning. About this so called rebellion against Mana, about her wellbeing and about her orders that had merely been his in disguise."

"Tch." The brunette man was clearly not happy about Kyoma stirring up his clan against him, but he couldn't change it now. Realizing how many hateful eyes were now directed his way, he finally gave up riling them up against Inori and assumed a confident stance in front of them instead. Readjusting his glasses, he merely chuckled at Kyoma and said:

"That's right. I played you all for the fools you were. Mana bit the dust almost a week ago…I was wondering when the fuck you would catch on at last." He shrugged nonchalantly at him before offering him a mocking slow clap with his hands. "So you finally figured it out with the help of nice gal Inori over here, good job." He turned towards the queen and gave her two thumbs up. "Cute little speech there, by the way, your majesty. Really inspirational and all that bullshit." He looked back at Kyoma with an evil smirk. "But little does it all matter, doesn't it?" His right hand found its way to his chest. "For, as you may well be aware, Kyoma, my friends and I control loop seven now. And what queen pinkylocks failed to mention to you all is, that she currently isn't a very free queen to begin with. That's right. She-"

His little rant was cut short by a crystal blade being swung at his head, stopping only an inch before it would cut into his throat. Narrowing his eyes on it, he then eyed Inori cockily with a look as if to say "Oh, did I hit a nerve, perhaps?"

"Nanba, I forgot to ask, how is your leg doing?" Inori asked him quietly and with fake concern, which was easy to tell by the coldness in her eyes. "You need to be more careful. You wouldn't want to end up with yet _another_ unfortunate injury, would you?"

"Hoh…is that a threat, my queen?" Nanba gave himself amused, yet couldn't hide the sweat forming on his forehead. "You and I both know Yuu would never allow you to harm the Genesis of Loop seven since he needs them to defend Tennozu Fort. And as it happens, I control the majority of them. Even if you manage to turn one of the clans against me, I still have the remaining four at my disposal."

"I don't need to harm the Genesis." She merely told him, clearly unimpressed by his words as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Only you four." She gestured towards Sudou, Ritsu and Miyabi as well, who couldn't help but flinch at that. Nanba, however, put on his poker face as he calmly analyzed the situation.

As things stood, he suspected Inori to be bluffing big time. To his understanding, Yuu was in control and he wouldn't ever allow Inori to kill them, for it could lead to unforeseeable consequences. As the clans would fight amongst themselves to determine a new leader, the resulting civil war would leave an opening for attackers to exploit, namely Shu and the SDF. It was a scenario Yuu would want to avoid at all costs.

But then he frowned. That was just assuming Yuu would think the same. Nanba hated to admit it, but even he couldn't quite figure out the envoy for sure. After all, he had also assumed Yuu wouldn't allow Inori to harm him and his friends in the first place, and yet here she stood, with full authority to beat the crap out of them. Plus, even though he would like to assume that the envoy's actions yesterday, when he had allowed Inori to have her fun with them at Arisa's, had merely been meant to show his dominance over them and nothing else, he wasn't entirely sure that was the case anymore. Inori _had_ been very close to killing him that time and yet the envoy hadn't shown any particular interest in the outcome regardless. It could very well be that, to the envoy, Nanba and his pack wasn't as valuable as the man himself believed they were.

That's when Nanba realized something crucial and his eyes widened up for a second. There was no need for a civil war if Inori were to simply take charge of all the clans immediately after killing him and his friends. As Inori would unite the clans into one and take absolute control as Eve, so would Yuu since he controlled her in return. By using Inori, he could gain control of Loop seven as a whole. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger. That cunning bastard! He had created a situation in which Da'ath was sure to control Loop seven one way or another. Either through him or through Inori. It didn't matter who it was in the end.

However, if he were to let Inori have her little moment to shine, all he would lose to her was one puny clan. He, on the other hand, could leave with his four and come back another day to try assimilating Kyoma's clan once again. He would practically lose nothing aside from a bit of time. Swallowing down his pride, he closed his eyes as he realized what he needed to do.

"There won't be a need for that." He therefore eventually responded to Inori with a sigh. "You're the boss. I'll do what you say."

Inori gave herself slightly taken aback by his sudden cooperation, yet didn't hesitate to order him to hand over all the supplies these people were due to receive. Hearing this, Nanba whistled once to get the attention of his men and told them to pull back from the truck so that Kyoma's men could take the entirety of its contents instead of only the initially planned fraction of it. Then he jumped off the vehicle, having Sudou, Ritsu and Miyabi follow him silently.

Nanba's followers, while slightly confused about their boss's decision to give in, still did as they were told, even if slightly regretful. Kyoma's clansmen didn't hesitate to rush forward and seize the supply crates for themselves. Inori watched many men and women each grabbing one of the already unloaded supply crates and loading them back on the truck before letting one of them get behind its wheel, ready to drive off into the direction of what Inori assumed was the one leading back to their camp.

Seeing this, Inori contently climbed down of the truck as well where she was welcomed by the cheers of the former rioters who seemed to be overjoyed to finally get to eat again. Everyone watched the supply truck driving off slowly while honking in victory. It was a sight equally as happy as it was sad for the queen, for as nice as it might have been that the trouble could have been resolved this easily, it had been quite pitiful that it had arisen in the first place. To survive the void realm only to get faced with starvation of all things. The Genesis deserved better than that, was what she thought.

Nanba was watching the scene from the sidelines for a while, albeit not quite as content with the outcome as the queen was. With folded arms and a bitter expression, he had to admit that things hadn't gone quite the way he had hoped they would. While it had been but a small setback, it was somewhat annoying to admit this defeat regardless. Deciding that he had seen enough for now, he turned around and began walking away, his friends and their clansmen right behind him.

"Hey Nanba, is this really okay?" Sudou couldn't help but ask worriedly as he threw one last look back at the cheering Genesis they were leaving behind.

"Of course it's not, but we will have to deal with it for now. Can't anger our little queen too much. We might find ourselves under her employ again soon, after all." He responded calmly, not even turning around to face him directly. His friends couldn't help but eye each other with troubled expressions before Ritsu eventually decided to speak up.

"Yeah, about that…we aren't exactly sure how that's gonna work out for us, Nanba."

"She banished us, remember?" Miyabi said with a frown. "Why should she take us back now?"

"You are not wrong." The brunette man told her with a shrug, only to turn around to her halfway, smirking at her. "She does not have a reason _yet_. However, she doesn't like the envoy all that much and we don't either. All we have to do is wait for the perfect opportunity to arise for us to play them both for the tools they are to us. Once Inori makes her move against the envoy, and she is _bound_ to do that, all _we_ have to do is to assist her with it and be rewarded afterwards. And I have quite a few ideas on how to exploit this little situation of hers to the fullest."

"Mind sharing that plan with us?" The black haired woman asked him curiously, only to get a shake of the head from him in return.

"Too early for details. For now we wait for our opportunity to strike. I will tell you when it's time, don't worry." He chuckled as he looked at his hand, seizing something invisible in it as he formed a fist in front of him. "We will be the last to laugh." His words seemed to be directed at the envoy and Inori alike.

"What about Kyoma?" Ritsu wanted to know as she scratched her head in disdain. "Won't he become a trouble now that he has Inori's support?"

"What support?" Was all Nanba asked of her amusedly, only eying her from over his shoulder. "Inori is still nothing more but a monster on a leash. The moment she enters Tennozu is the moment Kyoma will lose all her support as she will be unable to leave and we will make sure he won't be able to enter either."

"She might give him a crystal, though." The brunette girl objected with a frown, not seeming to be all that convinced about Nanba's plan. "With one, he could always just reach her from anywhere he wanted."

"Normally, yes." Their glasses wearing leader admitted, utterly carefree. "But it so happens that I know the envoy made sure communications will be blocked for her inside Tennozu. She won't be able to hear anything at all, meaning…" He left the end of his explanation open for them to put together the rest.

"Kyoma will be fucked!" Sudeo exclaimed excitedly as he hit his left palm with his right fist, eager to break some bones as always.

"Exactly."

"Too bad Inori managed to give his clan all those supplies, though. It would have been easier to crush them if they were still starving…" Miyabi said bitterly.

"That's not that much of a problem, right? After all, we merely gave them their next shipment in advance just now, didn't we?" The tomboyish girl of the quartet said with an evil smirk, earning her the approval of their leader as he decided to ruffle her already messy hair even further.

"That's my girl."

"Oh stop it, you." Giggling slightly, she brushed his hand off playfully.

"That's just deliciously evil." The piercings-wearing man next to her said with a huge grin. Even Miyabi gave herself amused at that.

"Can't wait to see their faces once they realize they have been royally screwed over just now."

They laughed together for a bit, enjoying their little scheme to the fullest, until Nanba eventually decided it was enough. He looked at the crystal fortress a few blocks in front of him and grinned as he approached it with absolute confidence.

That's right. No matter how many people would decide to fuck with them, he and his friends would always come out on top. Inori wanted to be queen? Let her be for now. Yuu bossing him around? Be his guest. He would take all the shit they would fling at them and wait for the perfect opportunity to throw it all right back at them both. Soon, _he_ would be king and then _he_ would be calling the shots. Let's see what Inori and Yuu would have to say once that time finally came.

" _Just watch me from hell, Gai. I will show you how it's actually done so that you can understand where exactly you failed."_ He thought, chuckling to himself as he looked up into the sky, silently hoping that blond bastard could see him from up above or wherever he was supposed to be. It brought him pleasure to imagine how he would be frowning back at him in disapproval. Oh what he would give to see his face once he would actually do it. To be crowned king.

Today he would walk this road back to Tennozu as the mere pawn he was, but soon, oh so very soon, this same road would be traversed again, yet a pawn he would be no longer.

This was meant to be the beginning of a story. A story of how a pawn became king.

He would make sure to make it a glorious one.

And just like this, the king of pawns led his friends and army back to the fortress, leaving Inori behind to have her small victory. Let her enjoy this one, it might have been one of the last ones she would ever get to experience from now on.

Things were, after all, about to change.

-GC-

Back at the intersection the rioters had occupied previously, you would barely even believe such a huge gathering had just occurred here a mere couple of minutes ago. From one moment to the next, the streets were almost empty, all Genesis simply gone. Whether it had been Nanba's goons or Kyoma's clansmen, they had all vanished from sight.

Well, not that it had come to much of a surprise for Inori. Kyoma's men had been hungry, so after celebrating their small victory briefly, the majority had run after the truck that had been driving off. Some of the more desperate ones had opened some crates right on the middle of the street to shove some food and water into their faces. The joy and relief the pinkette could have seen in their eyes had been reward enough. The feeling of having done the right thing, to have looked out for her people…as a queen, she felt happy that she managed to bring smiles back to the faces of her people. And even a bit of pride for having achieved this as well.

If there was one thing she had learned from her reign in the void realm, then that it was to cherish these rare times of feeling proud and happy about one's own decisions and actions. 'Cause more often than not, you would find yourself on the opposite side of this scenario. Being a queen…it was a tough job. One she hadn't necessarily asked for, yet had been given regardless. To keep yourself motivated, no… _sane_ , even, enjoying the few good aspects of queenship was strictly mandatory. Or else you wouldn't survive in that role for long.

That's why, despite her situation as a captive, despite her desire to return home, back into her king's loving arms, she smiled. At the people awkwardly stuffing their faces and making a mess, at the people laughing and cheering in joy as they had left with the truck and at the people who had spoken out her name with, not contempt, but approval and respect for the first time in five long years.

These people, despite having been their enemy once, had accepted her regardless. And where there had been frowns and distrust before whenever they had looked at her, now were smiles and happiness instead.

She was glad. So very glad. In a world in which she was shown that everybody was out to work against her, these people had proven her otherwise. Yes, there were people like Argo and Juan in this world, ready to turn their back on you from one moment to the next, but just like that, people like these Mananites existed. People who could forgive, who could accept former enemies as their friends. It was so beautiful a realization that the pink haired queen might have started crying in relief.

Maybe Shu had been right. Maybe this world wasn't rotten to the core, after all. If people like this existed, hope for a better future might not be lost.

She _was_ aware that she could have been overly optimistic about all this, of course. Maybe the Mananites would turn their backs on her as soon as they had brought these supplies into safety. Maybe they were trying to play her for a fool, acting like allies in order to abuse her kindness, but that's when she shook her head forcibly, trying to dismiss these dark though from her mind.

She would not allow her pessimistic thoughts to ruin her newfound hope. She would choose to believe in these people, be a good queen for them and in return, receive their goodwill as well. For this is how she wished things to be. Peaceful. Happy. Maybe it was overly idealistic, but it was still her dream.

"Queen Inori." She suddenly heard her name and turned around to face the source of it. That's when she saw the redheaded man with the musket void approach her respectfully before kneeling in front of her, catching her quite by surprise. People around her had stopped doing so after she had expressed that such formalities hadn't been necessary, so most of her followers stuck to a polite bow instead. This overly-respectful behavior sure brought her back to the early days of the void realm.

"Your grace, I owe you my sincerest gratitude. Had you not stepped up for us, I am sure we would have all…" He began speaking with a downcast gaze until Inori gently took his hands and used them to pull him up lightly.

"Please stand, um, Kyoma Ichiyo, is it?" She asked him with a gentle smile, which he immediately returned with one of his own, even if with slight surprise.

"You know my name?"

"Mana knew, which, in return, means that I do as well. You could say I learned of it through her." Inori explained to him calmly, which seemed to shock the man before her ever so slightly.

"I would have never thought. I have never actually spoken to the queen directly, let alone told her my name. I was a nobody in her army. Just another nameless soldier to go to war for her."

"You would be surprised of the things Mana actually knew. You and me both, I suppose." The queen couldn't help but smile sheepishly at her own words. It wasn't as if she herself had managed to go through the entirety of Mana's knowledge yet. It was there, but accessing all of it would take time and patience. It was sort of tricky, since she knew that the knowledge was there somewhere in her brain, but accessing it wasn't that simple. It's as if someone came up to you suddenly and asked you to tell you something of your past at random. Would you know what to tell? Which day to pick? Which event from said day to cover? However, if the same person asked you what you thought of that certain event on that specific day, answering it would be easy because no longer would you have to search the whole database of your memory and instead would only have to remember a certain part of it.

It was sort of like that for Inori as well. If you assume Mana's memories were embodied by a person Inori had to ask, asking her specific things would show results quicker than probing for information at random. In this case, asking that hypothetical "Mana" who that person in front of her was would earn her the response: "Kyoma Ichiyo". Inori would have also been able to learn of his identity if she had decided to remember all the names Mana had known, but it would have taken her tremendously longer.

So, in short, it was more effective to access Mana's knowledge by accessing it on demand rather than trying to assume its entirety all at once.

After all, you wouldn't try to systematically read all of Wikipedia's content one page at a time, either, would you?

"At any rate." Kyoma chose to get to the point as he cleared his throat. "With Mana now gone, I would like to ask for your permission to pledge loyalty to you instead." Was what he said, followed by kneeling down again, summoning his void and lying it down in front of him. "I am not interested in the power struggle of the Mananites. In the first place, if Mana is no more, there is no longer a need to be a Mananite in the first place. Rather than that, I just want to keep the people under me safe and I believe we would be safest under your rule. For that reason I will pledge my life and void to you, Queen Inori, if you'll allow me."

"There is no need to pledge anything, Kyoma." Was what Inori told him while gently placing her right hand on his left shoulder, thus making him look up to her. "As Eve, it is my responsibility to look after and protect the Genesis. Everyone who wishes for my protection shall receive it as long as they follow my rules." She explained to him. That's when he chose to get up and look at her with eyes filled with determination.

"Then my void is yours, my queen. I'll accept your rule and heed your command." He saluted, which only underlined his resolve. "And so will everyone from my former clan."

"That's good to hear." The pinkette replied with a gentle smile. However, her smile was quick to turn into a worried frown as she bought her right hand up to her chin thoughtfully. "I am afraid I might need every bit of help I could possibly get. Our enemy is a tough one, I am afraid."

The scarred soldier nodded in agreement. "Nanba and his followers are gone for now and heir supplies are ours. We will use them to get back our lost strength so we can put it to use however you see fit. With your lead, I am confident that we will be able to remove him from his position of power so that the army is, once more, under your command."

The pinkette, however, only shook her head slightly in response. "Nanba is not my primary concern. He is an awful man, but I cannot put the lives of my people in danger just to get rid of him. The forces under your lead are too few to oppose them and I am, sadly, not in the position to aid you right now." She lifted her left hand to show him the glowing ring on her ring finger with a bitter frown.

"A ring? What is its purpose?" He wondered as he eyed it questioningly and stroke his bearded chin.

"To bind me to the envoy of Da'ath." She told him seriously. "He is the true enemy we have to take down."

"I see." The redheaded man nodded at her words, his eyes starting to gleam as his predatory side was finally given a target to direct his murderous tendencies to. Undoubtedly, his mind was already thinking of ways to achieve that goal, even though Inori knew it would take a lot more than a couple minutes worth of thinking to devise a plan to kill that despicable blond man. Still, she welcomed his eagerness and motivation. While she normally would condemn such aggressive ways of thinking, she was willing to temporarily turn a blind eye on such things as long as Yuu was concerned. Or anyone from Da'ath for that matter.

"But the envoy is even a league above Nanba. How do you suppose we should take him on?" He asked her curiously.

That's when she grabbed his right hand and put her left one on it. Shortly after, a crystal stone appeared in it for him to hold onto. Leaning in on the man, she eyed him seriously to ensure he would pay close attention to her next words. She was pleased when she noticed how the aura of concentration was immediately radiating from the man in front of her.

"Listen well, Kyoma. This ring renders me powerless, but my Adam will soon come for me. His name is Ouma Shu. I want you to contact him or Samukawa Jun and help them in every possible way you can. If you work together with them, we might be able to set me free again and defeat Da'ath once and for all. Can you do that?"

He offered her a confident nod before replying: "Leave it to me, my queen. It shall be done."

"Thank you. He will likely be suspicious of you, but don't worry. If he distrusts you, just tell him…" She leaned in even closer, gently whispering something into his ear after which he was only seen raising a brow in confusion.

"I am afraid I don't understand…" The soldier admitted regretfully, his queen, however, only offered him an understanding smile.

"Don't worry, Shu will. It will clear all doubts about your allegiance with me. Just to be safe, though, if I find out you abused my trust to harm my king, I…" She began speaking out her warning to which Kyoma only fiercely shook his head in response.

"There will be no need for that, my queen. I am aware that it isn't simple to trust a stranger this easily, but not all Mananites are without honor. You will find that my clan is very loyal to the queen. We have never opposed Mana under Sasaki's leadership and neither do I intend to change that under mine. I am a firm believer that even though Mana fought you before, she would rather have me aid you than let scum like Nanba run free now that she is dead. In the end, only Eve has a legitimate claim to rule over us, so deciding who to support in this matter turns out to be quite easy."

"It appears Eve's new vassal seems to be quite the rational one for once." They both suddenly heard the all too familiar voice of a certain blond envoy behind them as he offered them a small clap which seemed to be mostly directed at Kyoma. "Finally someone who understands that following Eve is the only sane option there is."

Behind him, small powe- surging portals opened up for a split second before calling in the rest of the group, with Abeline and Zoe being the last ones to arrive, trailing behind the envoy as closely as ever. Arisa, looking around in a bored fashion, only noted:

"Well, who would you have thought? They all ran away as soon as you gave them what they wanted." She sighed in disappointment. "And you didn't even beat Nanba up…what a huge waste of our time this whole thing was."

"She did slap him, though." Souta chose to object, feeling that Inori at least deserved credit for that one. "Beat that smug grin right off of his face with a bit of help of the good old fashioned WHAM!" Everyone saw him chuckling as he mirrored a fighting move with his right fist. "Could have used more backhand, though." He admitted while scratching his cheek awkwardly.

Inori frowned at them, feeling slightly annoyed about their presence as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "The objective wasn't to beat Nanba up but to resolve this matter peacefully." She tried to make clear to them. The scarred soldier to her right seemed to regard the newcomers with similar feelings of distrust, having just learned of his queen's stance towards them. However, knowing his place, he wasn't all that open about it and chose to merely watch them warily from the sidelines. Studying them, looking for openings to exploit should he have to. He was surprised to see the envoy's analyzing eyes resting on him the moment he had started watching him. What a perceptive and cautious man. To avoid suspicion, he quickly decided to support his queen with her earlier statement with a confident nod.

"Which was an outstanding success, my queen." To his relief, the envoy seemed to lose interest in him soon after he had said that. Appearing like a dumb, obedient foot soldier might have done the trick, though it might also have been possible that he had earned the envoy's approval since he, too, seemed to appreciate the open display of loyalty towards Eve. How complicated.

"Oh please, I am about to barf." Was all the blonde Kuhouin princess could offer them in response as she rolled her eyes at the musketeer. "All she did was shoo that numb nut of a man away for you and you are already bending the knee for her. If making people follow you was this easy, maybe I should have started my own campaign of world conquest years ago, instead of wasting my time with Da'ath."

"You really should have, Arisa." The pinkette agreed with a fake smile. "You swift death would have meant neither Shu nor I would have had to struggle so much."

This caused both girls to send death stares towards each other until Yuu eventually had to intervene, sighing while holding his forehead in annoyance.

"Enough of this, both of you. We have already spent enough time here as it is. And while it was very interesting to watch Eve's problem solving skills in action, I am afraid our schedule is too tight to waste even another second here, so if you are done here, Eve, could we all please just get moving already?"

The queen threw one last glance at her newfound ally in Loop seven, silently wondering if he would be okay. The war-veteran noticed this and reassured her with another of his determined nods before bowing to her once in respect and deciding to head back to his camp.

"I, too, must take my leave here and hurry back to my men. I have some explaining to do, after all. If my queen has no further need for me, I would like to depart right away."

"Of course, go and be safe." Was her immediate response. With her blessing, he offered the envoy's party his farewells and turned around, rallying the remainder of his forces that had stayed behind to loot some crates to grab their stuff, form up and head back with him. His men, while not as disciplined as him, quickly obeyed his command and got into formation, followed by marching behind him as he took the lead.

Inori watched him leave with a content expression in her eyes. She might have managed to help Shu out a lot with her actions just now. If all went well, Kyoma's troops would provide some valuable backup during the assault of Tennozu Fort. With a frown she noticed, however, that it wouldn't be enough still. She had to try harder.

"I am ready." She eventually stated as she turned around to the envoy, who sighed in relief at that.

"Good. Let's finally head to Tennozu, then. I have still much to do today."

He and Inori both, was what the queen silently thought.

"The fastest way back to Tennozu is this way." They then heard Harune report to them while looking at a data tablet in her hands, displaying a map of Loop seven. Her finger pointed down a street to their right. "The main road is blocked by rubble, so we will have to take a small detour after the second intersection unless we want to clear it."

"No time for that." Is all the envoy responded to that after checking the map together with Harune to confirm the route she had suggested to them. "We'll take the detour since Eve surely can't be bothered to help out anyway, am I right?" A small glance was sent out over his shoulder towards the queen, who merely eyed him defiantly while making a gesture that imitated someone rubbing two coins together with their thumb and index finger, silently telling him that it would cost him. Smirking at that, he merely mumbled a faint "Figured as much." and took the lead again.

"So detour it is." Souta sighed behind him as he, too, got his gear into motion. "More walking, hooray." His enthusiasm regarding this outcome clearly had had its limits.

"Some fine controlling device these rings turn out to be…" His blonde boss added to that with gritted teeth. She followed suit, though.

"Less moaning, more walking." Harune lectured them with a playful smile, earning her a "Yeah, yeah." from them both in return.

"You guys could learn a few things from Abby and Zoe. They don't complain at all about this road trip." Was all she had to say to that. However, her ears couldn't catch up what Yuu and Inori's Genesis ears could hear, which was a very faint:

"Hate road trips…" from Zoe, followed by an even fainter. "Mh-hm." From her twin sister. Luckily for Harune, neither Eve nor Yuu felt a particular need to point it out to her.

And so they continued their journey in more or less silence, aside from Souta's occasional groans from time to time which the group had collectively decided to simply disregard as mere background noise.

With every step they took, in the distance, between all the old and partially ruined buildings around them, the giant crystal fortress appeared to become even bigger. An optical illusion created by the fact that they finally came closer and were able to see its magnitude firsthand.

As Inori watched the overwhelming crystal architecture approach, seeing its enormous shadow being cast over an wide area as if devouring its surroundings like an all-consuming beast, she couldn't help but wonder with a heavy heart:

Could she really escape from a prison that looked this impressive even from afar…?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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**6\. Legacy**

"We are finally here." The envoy stated with a content sigh as he approached the gateways of Tennozu Fort together with his followers. However willing or unwilling they may have been.

Inori looked up at the imposing fortress, its tall crystal walls not even the most impressive obstacle to be seen standing between them and the building at the center of the formation. Not only had Mana covered the former walls the students had built with crystals, she had also raised guard tower-like formations on the walls in regular intervals. Armed Da'ath personnel could be seen patrolling on them and observing both the inside and the outside of the fortress. The queen figured that they would have had a good look at their surroundings from so high up.

Analyzing the structure as a whole, she thought assaulting it would be hard given the strategic position of Tennozu High. Surrounded by canals on one side, attackers would have to storm the fort from another, unless they wanted to go through the hassle of crossing one of the canals. There was a reason for why Shu had decided to make Tennozu High their base of operations five years ago. If properly fortified, this place was relatively easy to hold. It had been a good base back then and was certainly even better now that it had been altered by Mana. She bit down on her lower lip once she realized that. How troublesome.

The envoy led the group to something that looked like an entrance. With a bit of fantasy, you could probably even still see remnants of the old school gate under all the crystal reinforcements. It wasn't entirely clear whether or not the old mechanism would still be useable to seal the entrance, but the pinkette was sure that if it wasn't, Da'ath would have surely installed another means of closing the gate in case of attacks.

Two guards in white were keeping watch over the entrance, but didn't even try to get in the envoy's way as he wordlessly passed them. No questions were asked and no objections raised. He simple walked through there without trouble. Needless to say that everyone else was allowed to enter after them as well. Inori thought that to be quite odd, but when she saw other people trying to get in after them, she saw them stopped and questioned by the guards who had asked for them to identify themselves. It seemed like only the envoy enjoyed the luxury to enter and leave as he pleased, which made sense, she figured.

She was still in the middle of asking herself whether or not this security flaw could possibly be exploited somehow when she was forced to make a new, more shocking realization. Having barely even passed through the gates, she suddenly noticed how Shu's feelings for her had stopped reaching her.

She stopped walking out of shock, opening her eyes wide in panic as she concentrated on sensing Shu even more, hoping that the signal had merely become weak due to distance instead of having died completely. One explanation was acceptable, the other absolutely disastrous. Her heart rate accelerated even more when she failed to feel Shu even after seconds of trying really hard. Something like that couldn't happen. It wasn't allowed to! Adam's feelings for Eve had to reach her assuming both of them were still in Tokyo. Failure to feel Adam could only mean horrible things. Things Inori didn't even want to imagine.

Acting on instinct alone, Inori turned around, making her first steps back to the gate she had just passed when her weird behavior naturally drew the group's attention towards her.

"Is something the matter, Eve?" Yuu asked with a curious smirk as he watched the queen's panicked reaction.

"Something is not right…" She muttered in confusion as she came to a halt. That's when she realized it hadn't just been Shu's feelings for her she had failed to sense, but the crystal network as a whole. Where normally a bunch of voices could be heard all around her, there now was…silence. But not the comforting one, but the more creepy kind. Inori had previously been able to block out the voices of other Genesis talking over the crystal network with her mind, but now she couldn't actually hear _anything_ going on there at all. It was as if everyone had suddenly died. She felt… _disconnected_.

"This is…impossible…" The pinkette gasped and held her forehead, slightly shaking her head in disbelief. She was Eve. She was basically _one_ with the crystals. To be disconnected from them was simply not possible.

"What is…?" Souta asked, raising a brow at her.

Inori didn't seem to acknowledge him at all, being too absorbed in her current unexplainable situation. She had never felt like this before, not once after she had woken up in the void realm. In an attempt to confirm her suspicions, she attempted to create a crystal directly in front of her, only to get surprised by the fact that the crystal she had attempted to summon appeared diagonally left from her.

This was even more confusing. She had meant to create it directly in front of her, so why would it spawn so far away from her desired location? Furthermore, when she tried to order the crystal to float in front of her and perform some basic movements mirroring the ones performed by her hand, she was soon to notice how the crystal, while performing movements, failed to behave in the way she had wanted it to. This freaked her out so much that she let go of the crystal on the spot, letting it fall on the ground like the lifeless object it was. The group winced at the sound of glass breaking apart as the crystal shattered after hitting the ground. All while the queen herself shook her head in absolute horror and confusion.

"What is happening…?" She asked herself in shock clearly not comprehending what was going on with her.

"That's what I would like to know as well." Arisa groaned in frustration. "It's like you are throwing a fit every 100 meters we walk. What is it this time, I wonder?"

Ignoring Arisa just as she had Souta before, Inori's eyes fell on the envoy and the ring he wore on his left hand. Counting two and two together, she quickly came to the conclusion that this had to be his work once more. Eying him angrily, she asked:

"What have you done to me, envoy? Speak!" She demanded of him.

Yuu, however, was only seen raising a brow in wonder, seemingly oblivious to what she was even talking about.

"I am afraid you have got me at a loss here, Eve. Perhaps you could elaborate?"

"Why…why can't I feel the crystals anymore?"

Yuu was then seen folding his arms in front of him as he pondered possible explanations for her dilemma.

"Well, Ouma Mana might be dead, but this base is still her creation. It could be that she had made this place with the intent of locking you out, should you ever come here. She wasn't very fond of you, after all."

Inori's angered look shifted into one of worry as she looked around her, considering the possibility. There was logic in the envoy's words. Eve could restrict crystal access, so, while Mana had been Eve, she might have used her authority to restrict Inori's here. And after accessing Mana's memories, Inori realized that she, indeed, had done so. So that's what this was?

"Then that's an easy thing to fix…" She decided with a determined nod as she tried approaching the closest crystal wall. That was until Yuu got in her way.

"Wait, Eve. Explain what you are doing."

Coming to a halt again, she frowned at him, but did as she was told. "If Mana has created this place with the intention of locking me out, all I really need to do is override her order."

Shaking his head with a knowing smirk, Yuu replied: "I doubt this is going to be this easy to be honest."

"Watch me." As if to prove him wrong, Inori merely turned around and walked towards the crystals near the gate again, placing her right hand on them. However, as soon as she had done that, her expression became troubled. She closed her eyes but even after moments of waiting, nothing seemed to happen. Eventually her hand retracted itself as the queen mumbled to herself:

"I…can't read them, either?"

Of course, being the spiteful woman she was, Arisa didn't pass up on her chance to ridicule Inori.

"What's wrong, Wonderwoman? Weren't you going to show us your impressive Eve powers?" She said with a smirk.

"This is weird…even if Mana _did_ lock me out, I should still be able to read her crystals and undo her handiwork. But these crystals…their inner works are all…gibberish. I can't change them like this." The pinkette thought out aloud, not really seeming to pay attention to the blonde's jabs at her. After a short pause, Inori's expression became determined as she said:

"In that case, I will have to destroy them."

"Perish the thought, Eve. I won't let you do that." Yuu merely told her with a sigh, shaking his head. "It may be regrettable that Mana's crystals have such a negative effect on you, but surely you couldn't have thought I would let you raze this fortress down just because it is inconvenient for you. I am really sorry for you, but Da'ath needs those walls so they stay up."

"Then I will just rebuild them for you…" She tried to argue back, but only saw him shrug at her.

"And riddle the fortifications with hidden structural weaknesses for Adam to exploit? I don't think so. Besides, it took Mana several days to finish reinforcing this base. Since Adam is already planning to make his move, we will likely not have the time to finish reconstruction regardless. I'll have to ask you to kindly bear with this situation for until your Adam comes and joins Da'ath at which point you should be free to alter these crystals to your heart's content."

Inori eyed him defiantly as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Is that an order?"

Frowning in displeasure, he replied: "Do we seriously have to play it this way all the time, Eve?"

The queen, however, only repeated her question, this time with more emphasis: "Is this an order, envoy?"

Sighing at her, he eventually confirmed: "Yes, Eve. No destroying crystals made by Mana."

This caused the queen to smirk as her eyes flashed up red. "I refuse." Her words seemed almost playful at that point.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the envoy lifted his ring which soon after started gleaming in a purplish sheen. Soon after, Inori was seen frowning in displeasure and holding her head as if in pain, albeit never losing her smirk. Eventually the red gleam in her eyes started to flicker followed by her losing the strength in her legs and slowly falling to the ground, leaning forward on her arms as she began panting heavily due to what seemed to be extreme fatigue.

"I…understand." She yielded in the end. Yet, despite being obviously tired, the group got the feeling she was content nonetheless.

"I hope you are happy with yourself, Eve." Yuu told her with annoyance in his voice before looking at Harune. "Please help her walk, as she obviously won't be able to do so on her own."

"On it." Was all she said in response before walking up to Inori's side and throwing one of her arms over her shoulders to help her up. "Alright, and up you go."

"Here, let me help you." Souta was quick to offer assistance by taking position to Inori's other side and mimicking Harune's actions.

Inori, however, only chuckled at that. "Oh, so you won't use your telekinesis to carry me around? I am so very _disappointed_. Could it be you are getting tired already?"

Closing his eyes at that remark, Yuu could only sigh once more. "Eve, you may think this behavior is in your own interest but it really isn't. You will never tire me out before I get to do what I have planned to do with you. Believe me, I have thought this through a thousand times. The only one who will get to suffer for this is you if you won't cease your childish resistance."

"Oh, so is that a threat now?"

"No, Eve. I will never threaten you. It is a warning, though. I would like to avoid having you go through this ordeal any more than I absolutely have to."

"Save me your fake concern, envoy. It is wasted on my ears." She coughed once, trying to stabilize her heavy breathing.

"Pity. But if this is how you want things to be, I can hardly change it. I will try to get this sorted as soon as possible so that you won't have to struggle for too long." He explained to her dryly as he turned around, leading the way once more.

Disregarding the envoy's words entirely, Inori chose to focus on her surroundings instead as she was more or less dragged forward by Souta and Harune. Inside the huge crystal walls that had surrounded the fortress and former school, many people were buzzing around. Some wore the typical Da'ath attire while others, presumably the former Mananites, kept wearing whatever the hell they had wanted to. But yet, even despite that clear difference, both groups appeared to be coexisting fairly well with each other. While the queen saw many Da'ath members and Mananites keeping to themselves and doing their own thing, there still seemed to be a form of understanding between both camps since Inori kept spotting both factions interacting with each other rather peacefully on several occasions.

Whether it was a Da'ath engineer coming up to a group of Genesis and asking for their assistance regarding the heavy lifting of a broken Endlave arm-piece or some wounded Genesis coming up to Da'ath to ask for medical attention. Neither side showed any signs of annoyance and simply helped each other out on the spot. It seemed almost as if it was natural for them to act this way. If there was any form of segregation going on, Inori couldn't see it at the very least.

This caused conflicting feelings to well up inside her and she had to frown. How come the formerly so unruly Mananites who would even bicker amongst themselves were being so cooperative with Da'ath when the Undertakers back home kept locking horns with her Genesis on a constant basis? Don't get her wrong, she was happy to see that coexistence was, indeed, very possible, but why did it have to work _here_ and not back home? Was it her fault, perhaps? Had she failed as a queen?

_Don't even go there, Inori. Da'ath is just really good with offering carrots so they barely ever need to get out the stick. The latter of which those Genesis here got to know fairly well in the past, sadly. No wonder that playing "good cop" works so well on them now._

The queen blinked at that confusedly. There it was again. That voice. Now she was absolutely positive she hadn't merely imagined it. And while she appreciated the encouraging words, she had hard times believing that it really was supposed to be her "inner voice", for it wouldn't make sense for it to use metaphors she couldn't quite comprehend. What was this "good cop" thing supposed to mean? Neither her, nor Da'ath were members of the police…or were they?

She shook her head and held her forehead in frustration. How confusing. Hey, inner voice, how about making more sense over here? The voice just chose to sigh at her.

_Nevermind that. I will explain later. Just don't freak out when I finally do. You are not crazy, okay?_

Well, that was a relief to hear…but weren't crazies normally telling themselves the very same thing all the time? Maybe she really did lose it? She had hit her head quite hard back when she had collided with Jun yesterday. Just thinking about that actually hurt.

The voice didn't respond to that and Inori wasn't sure whether she was relieved due to that or rather saddened. She did appreciate the encouragements the voice offered her, yet it would also ease her mind if she could make sure she wasn't actually slowly embracing lunacy. Otherwise they might see a new kind of _mad queen_ appearing on stage soon…

But anyway, since the voice was gone for now, Inori chose to scout out the base some more in hopes of finding something to use later. The first thing that obviously struck her eyes was the giant crystal towers Mana had erected on top of the school building, thus turning it into an absurd palace or fortress. There was a huge tower in the middle which was surrounded by many smaller ones arranged in a circle around it. Each one of those towers was connected with each other through crystal bridges that grew out of them at seemingly random. It almost looked like a brain's synapses, even having lights travel through those bridges from time to time, though it was more likely that they transported Genesis using the crystal network rather than electrical impulses meant for directing nerve systems.

The advantage of creating such a seemingly crazy architectural nightmare was quite obvious, though. Those towers were all connected with the outer wall of the fortress, allowing Genesis defending the fort to fast-travel all around the base and "jumping" from tower to tower in case of an attack. Flanking Da'ath here would prove to be hard. Plus, since there were so many chaotic connections to the towers, destroying them would also become difficult. Even if you managed to damage some bridges, you would still have to severe all of them to cut off reinforcements form arriving. It was surprisingly smart tactical thinking for someone like Mana.

Furthermore, the crystal towers themselves seemed to have been charged up with some sort of power, as the pinkette was able to see them flare up in a pinkish sheen in constant intervals. In fact, the energy seemed to travel from one tower to the next, being passed on in a fluid motion, thus letting the pink gleam travel around the base in a circle. This made the queen very suspicious. What was all the power needed for? What was generating it? Was it perhaps a defensive mechanism? Or maybe even a weapon instead? She sure hoped not, as the energy concentration was so strong around her, she could hear a surging noise every time the power managed to finish a full cycle around the base and passed the closest tower to her.

Speaking of weaponry, there were quite a lot of Endlaves around, much to Inori's dismay, albeit not to her surprise. Knowing that Shu would only have one to use, seeing all those war machines being neatly lined up in the former makeshift garage was indeed quite disheartening. Mana must have even upgraded the garage when she had chosen to reinforce it with crystals, as Inori didn't quite remember it ever having been big enough to even hold Endlaves in the first place, let alone so many of them.

They seemed to be in good condition, having several engineers tend to them at all times. Some pilots were using a couple of them for some training maneuvers while being instructed by some veteran pilots. Well, that was a relief at least. Even such inhuman people like Da'ath seemed to need training to become the monsters that they eventually end up to be. It was concerning to see some Genesis joining their ranks, though, as not all pilots appeared to be Da'ath only. But perhaps she could use that knowledge later, so she made a mental note of that.

As the group approached the main entrance, the pinkette couldn't help but notice a reddish spot on the concrete, not far from the path they were using. A bunch of Da'ath soldiers marched over it in formation, never even paying that spot any heed. Inori, however, immediately felt an unpleasant sensation welling up inside her. A weird mixture of sadness and anger which forced her to turn away her gaze in hopes of getting rid of it.

That's right. It was the spot Yuu had shot Shu's arm off with the help of an Endlave right after they had returned from the void realm.

All her hopes and dreams of a peaceful future she had held at the time, shattered by one simple gunshot. And as the shards had fallen to the ground, being forced to take a bath in the blood that had poured out of her beloved king's severed arm, they had become tainted and twisted until they were re-arranged into the hopes and dreams she held today. Which was to survive together with Shu, no matter the cost. Peace? She didn't even dare to think of it, knowing that the moment that wish manifested inside her heart, it would merely be ripped out of her chest by Da'ath's cold claws and torn to shreds once more. No, Inori realized sadly, peace was at least as impossible to attain for her as it was for people to catch a god. After all, you couldn't grab what only existed in myth, could you?

"And if you turn your head to your right, you will be able to see an ominous red mark on the ground which clearly wasn't caused by someone accidentally having dropped a crate of ketchup." Souta was heard mumbling as he imitated a tour-guide. He seemed to try to stay positive, but clearly had his troubles upon seeing something like that. A normal reaction, Inori thought. People shouldn't ever get comfortable with seeing blood. Especially so much of it.

"Hm, this should be Ouma`s if I recall correctly. From the time Yuu failed to follow a simple order of elimination." Arisa explained to Souta while narrowing down her eyelids in disappointment halfway through the sentence. The envoy who had been the target of her subtle jab had chosen to remain silent, knowing fully well that nothing he would tell the blonde actively could change her opinion on the matter. However, Harune shocked the group when it was her of all people who had chosen to stand up for the blond man.

"Miss Kuhouin, the envoy acts on Da'ath's best interest. While that may include your interest, it is not limited to that alone." She said calmly. There was no trace of venom or malice to be heard in her voice. Just rationality. As if she had merely stated a simple fact.

The young head of the Kuhouin family appeared to be irritated by that. Who was this girl to speak for the envoy? She had not directed her words at her.

"Oh, I didn't know the envoy got an envoy of his own now. So do I have to speak through you to communicate with him now or how does this work?" She asked her with folded arms.

Before the brunette could reply to that, though, Yuu merely said:

"Don't direct your frustration at my assistant, Miss Kuhouin. You may not have liked hearing her statement, but that doesn't mean she is wrong with what she said. I may answer to you, but only if your will is in accordance with the rest of Da'ath. You may have sought Ouma Shu's elimination, but I have already explained to you why I didn't act on it. If you have a problem with my decision, feel free to raise your complaint to your fellow executives."

"Tch, forget those old geezers." Arisa merely rolled her eyes and looked away in disinterest. "They are all too focused on the apocalypse for them to listen to me, it seems. But that's fine. I actually have a proposal to make that they definitely will be in favor of, impatient as they are. Please look forward to it, _your majesty_." Her last words were directed at Inori as she performed an exaggerated bow.

"I am sure you will only act in both our interests, Arisa." The queen replied to her gently.

The group was then becoming witness to the hugest paradox they have seen that day. As both ladies were facing each other with seemingly kind smiles and goodwill, their eyes sent out entirely different messages. On first glance they made it appear as if they were really thinking what they were saying, but upon clearer inspection their clear thoughts came to light.

" _Ah, why can't you just fall into a coma and never wake up again…"_

" _If I ever bring the apocalypse, I know who I will put in charge of garbage collection, that's for sure."_

Abeline and Zoe who kept watching them both in silence, were just seen raising a brow at that, followed by shaking.

"Temperature just dropped?" They both muttered in surprise and took a few steps back from them to gain distance.

"Yeah, though that's more due to those two ice queens not getting along than anything." Yuu explained with a tired sigh, followed by pushing the twins closer to the building. "Come on now, get inside and warm up."

Both girls took a few steps into the direction they were shoved to but stopped immediately afterwards, turning around to face Yuu once more, albeit without a single word.

"We will be right behind you, just go." He merely told them with a smile as he waved the off. This, in return, made them nod in satisfaction, followed by storming off into the direction of the school building faster than any ninja could have. My, they must have been really eager to get out of the cold.

Speaking of which…

"Wow…it really _is_ cold…" Inori finally realized, looking quite surprised for some reason. She touched her now reddened cheeks which had undoubtedly been a side effect of the temperature around her.

"Sherlock Yuzuriha, at your service." Arisa said mockingly with one hand on her hips sassily.

"I never noticed until now…" The queen admitted as she looked down in sadness. "It's because I no longer can feel Shu…"

"Must sure be nice to have an in-built heater inside you." The black haired man next to her mumbled enviously as he turned away from her to sneeze, causing Arisa to grumble at him.

"Idiot. Get inside as well, before you catch a cold." She scolded him.

"But Inori…" Souta tried to object before his boss pushed him forward, followed by putting Inori's arm around her shoulders so she could carry her in his stead.

"Just go before I change my mind."

"I will never forget your sacrifice, Milady!" He cried in a mixture of happiness and admiration before finally turning around and following the twins inside.

"Aw, look at you, Arisa. Seems like you still _are_ capable of expressing human emotions such as kindness and sympathy." The pinkette snickered in amusement as the blonde who was supporting her now merely pressed her eyelids shut in anger. All while the envoy continued to lead them to the main entrance.

"That's rich coming from someone who only recently learned what emotions even are."

"How mean, and here I thought we might be friends…" The queen theatrically whined as she pulled Arisa closer, thus putting more weight on her.

"Stop that, you fat cow. You are heavy! Why don't you annoy the envoy's number one fangirl instead?" The blonde suggested in annoyance.

"Please leave me out of this, ladies…" Was all Harune could say as she nervously tried to deflect the idea.

"As much as it pains me to end this…bonding session you ladies seem to be enjoying right now…" Yuu eventually said quite listlessly, clearly feeling slightly irritated at the childish behavior. "We are finally here. Welcome back to Tennozu High, Eve." He said the last part with a smirk as he pushed the doors open. The guards at the door didn't even acknowledge their existence as he led them in.

Inori couldn't help but look around in what seemed to be a mixture of nostalgia and disbelief. What she saw was equally as familiar as it was bizarre. She now stood at the entrance hall with all its shoe lockers and the remains of the quarantine barriers established by Shu back during the Loop Seven days, yet there was also a big amount of crystals sparkled all over the place as if this place had suffered some kind of alien infestation problem.

Except, Inori had to realize, it wasn't exactly as scary as it might have seemed at first glance. While it might have looked intimidating to the eyes of unrelated people, to someone like Eve, who understood crystals and their creation, a purpose and system to the madness was quickly found. Where ordinary people would think of the crystal sprouts as uncontrolled infestation, Inori understood that there were only crystals where it made sense for them to be. Most of them had grown near the walls of the hallways for quick transport, only crossing over the floor if the wall or the ceiling were not an option or when windows would have gotten obstructed. Some crystals had overgrown light sources to offer their own light instead, probably improvisations since the original light bulbs had probably ceased to function ages ago. Not to mention many crystal structures which seemed to offer additional services, such as emitting heat. One of which was currently claimed by two little girls of identical appearance, practically hugging the crystal in an attempt to warm themselves up faster.

True, Mana's design for the crystals all around the base might have lacked finesse, but Inori understood more than anyone that creating a fortress in less than a two weeks' worth of time was a tough job, even for the queen of Genesis. Style would inevitably have had to suffer in favor of functionality. Compromises had had to be met, unfortunately. In the first place, Inori would actually believe that creating a base from scratch would have been easier than using Tennozu High as a base, since it was always easier to control only crystals, instead of having to work around concrete and steel, but Da'ath had probably wanted to salvage the already existing electricity lines and heat systems of the school so Mana might have had to bite the bullet for them back when this place had come to fruition.

Being Eve was a hard job no matter who your followers were, it seemed.

"I never thought I would see this place again. It has changed a lot." She had to eventually admit. Whether or not she liked the changes couldn't be heard in her voice alone, though it was very doubtful she would, considering this place had become a Da'ath infested cesspool.

"Oh, that's right. You used to attend this school, didn't you?" Harune seemed to remember something she had learned before. Either the envoy had told her that detail or he had given her access to Inori's files to let her learn of that fact herself. The queen wasn't sure if she liked being studied so much by other people, especially Da'ath supporters.

"Yeah, we did. Though it used to be so much better back then." Arisa responded to that question with narrowed eyes.

"Lots of memories in this place." Inori appeared to be thinking back for a second as she paused her sentence for a second before a smile eventually started adorning her face. "They weren't all bad."

"I suppose so." Even the cold Kuhouin princess had to agree with her on that.

Yuu had looked like he had wanted to add something to that topic when he had suddenly been attacked by two little girls from behind. "Ouf."

"Welcome home, Yuu-nii!" They both cheered as they nearly tackled him down, laughing. That was before they noticed that his skin and clothes were still cold from when he had been outside so they quickly jumped off him again.

"Gah! Cold!"

The blond man could only chuckle at that. "Well, it's good to see you two all energetic again, though I could really do without these sudden assaults…"

"Eh…? But that's half the fun…!" Abby gave herself surprised.

"Right?" Zoe seemed to agree with her twin sister, looking at Yuu as if he had just said something crazy.

"….Fascinating." Inori couldn't help but mutter in amazement. She was holding her chin while witnessing the girl's sudden change in character with wide open eyes. Gone were all the emotionless behavior and the emptiness in their eyes. Although their clinginess regarding the envoy was still untouched. A full recovery to their previous state, before they had left the Kuhouin mansion. From the looks of it, even Arisa seemed to be baffled at that sudden change in character.

"Like day and night, huh."

"It appears like we are missing Mr. Tamedate." The envoy merely noted on the side after having held an eye out for the dark haired man.

"The one who came with us? He said he wanted to go find someone who would give him warmer clothes." Abeline told him with a finger put on her lips, thinking back.

"Said he would be back in a flash." Zoe added with a nod.

"He lied. A flash would have been quicker. Like this." As if to demonstrate, Abeline teleported herself forward with the help of her void. A fact that seemed to annoy the blonde business woman of the group.

"Wait, so they _can_ teleport around Tennozu. So why did we have to walk…?"

"The barrier just restricts them from getting in or out. They can teleport freely inside the base once they have crossed it." Harune told her calmly before turning to the envoy directly. "So, should I escort Eve to her chambers?"

The blond man nodded at that. "Please do, Harune. Miss Kuhouin and I will have to attend a board meeting to bring Da'ath up to date regarding the current situation."

"Always such a blast to attend those…" Arisa merely sighed at that, clearly not feeling very motivated to participate. However, it was a necessary evil to overcome as an executive. It wasn't all fun and games being on the top of the food chain, after all. And this time, she had some suggestions to bring up, too, so the sooner she got to it, the better.

That was when Inori broke away from Harune and Arisa and decided to walk on her own feet again, even if slightly shaky ones.

"No need for any escorts. This was once my home. I can get around here on my own just fine." She told the envoy defiantly.

"Even so, you would be surprised how much the structure has changed from before Mana had modified it. Especially the newer upper levels." Arisa said with a frown. "Just take her with you, be a good little prisoner and get to your cell as soon as possible so that you won't bother anyone more than you already are." A gesture meant to shoo her away accompanied her disinterested sounding words.

The queen, however, just deviously smiled as she replied: "Your concern for me is so moving, I might actually decide to stick around with you for the duration of my stay here, Arisa. Our friendship would surely grow drastically."

"The only thing that would grow is my urge to vomit whenever I see you."

"Oh my." Inori laughed as if she had heard a mere joke, putting her hand on her cheek and leaning her head slightly into it. "I hope you won't accidentally choke on it and die."

"Please, just stop…" Harune tried to appeal to their reason, yet only got those two to lock intense gazes hidden behind fake smiles. They were like magnets with the same polarization. Force them together and they would spend all their power to just get apart as soon as possible.

Luckily for them, the return of Arisa's knight marked the end of the ladies' bickering. He came running back to her with a Da'ath jacket, now matching the rest of the cult in color at least, albeit he was still wearing his old clothes underneath.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, guys. The dudes at the gate kept making a fuss when I wanted to enter and I thought I would have an easier time moving around if I matched the dress code around here." He explained to them while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Plus, I gotta say, those clothes are a lot more comfy than I would have previously thought…" He showcased his surprise by demonstrating how well he could actually move in that jacket he had acquired, being able to stretch his arms out in every direction without ever getting restricted in any way or the fabric giving in. If anything, he was probably more restricted by his shabby business suit he still wore underneath it.

"Naturally, Mr. Tamedate." Yuu chuckled at his words amusedly. "It's made with a material that is currently only available to the military. It doesn't tear, burn, is water proof and keeps the wearer warm. Quite a pain to clean them, though."

"In other words, that jacket is probably more expensive than everything you own combined." Harune added with a playful smirk, causing him to gulp.

"You know, on second thought…" As he was about to attempt removing the garments from around his shoulders, Arisa only groaned at him in annoyance and forced it back on him once more.

"Forget the money, Souta! Keep your eyes open for Nanba and his scum instead! It was your idea to come here, so I expect you to take responsibility and keep me save, got it? Don't you _dare_ leave my side for even just a second." To emphasize how important it actually was to her, she even put her left arm around his right one and held him close to her.

Hearing his boss' demanding tone, he assumed a serious posture and responded firmly: "Yes, Ma'am!" He didn't know whether it was funny or sad that it almost felt like a reflex to him. He also gulped at the sudden direct contact and wondered if she actually realized how close they were right now or whether or not her potential fear of Nanba might have temporarily overridden her rational thinking. Either way, he couldn't help but blush slightly, but he was happy nonetheless.

"Good." She nodded and offered him a content smile. "I am counting on you here, Souta."

"Leave it to me."

"They do realize I am still around to protect them, do they?" Inori overheard Yuu mumbling towards Harune's direction as he watched those two making yet another scene with folded arms.

"I think they might just be on the edge because this place brings back bad memories for them." Her assistant offered him her theory with a kind smile.

"If you say so…" The envoy shrugged and began moving forward while shaking his head in what might have been resignation. Nope, he wouldn't be wasting his time wrapping his head around their problems. He had plenty of his own to deal with as it was.

"I am afraid I have matters to attend to, Eve, but don't worry, I will leave Harune with you to look after you. She is authorized to get you anything you could possibly need, so feel free to ask for her assistance whenever you so wish."

Inori, however, only frowned at him in response as she folded her arms in front of her chest, declaring confidently:

"I don't need her."

The envoy could only shrug at that. "Well, then you are apparently more capable than I am, since I tend to take advantage of her assistance ever since I have found her. Perhaps you should give her a chance first?"

"If that is so, why not take her with you instead? Unless you need her to have an eye on me…?"

"I can't take her to the executive meeting, Eve. There are rules here in Da'ath. You need clearance for that." He told her with a frustrated sigh as he scratched the back of his head.

"The envoy's assistant can't attend?" The queen asked, slightly bemused at what she assumed was a mere attempt to come up with an excuse.

"It's not about rank but time served in Da'ath. Since Harune has been here for even less than a month…" He began but got cut off.

"Less than a month and already the envoy's sidekick? That's an impressive jumpstart on the career ladder." Souta couldn't help but exclaim with an impressed whistle.

"Yet not impossible, is it Executive assistant Tamedate Souta?" The brunette girl in question said with a smile as she put both her hands behind her back neatly.

"Touché…"

"Anyway, Harune has earned her place for a reason, so don't underestimate her abilities. I am sure she will be helpful one way or another." Yuu tried to wrap things up as he turned around again to leave. "We will be going now, Eve. Make yourself at home. I am leaving things to you, comrade Harune. I have faith that you will take good care of Eve in my absence."

"I won't disappoint you, Yuu." She told him with a playful salute, earning her a chuckle from the blond man.

"Of course. You never do."

"Bye bye, Haru-nee and Inori-nee." Zoe said as she trotted after the envoy, turning around only to wave at them.

"See ya, Inori." Souta nodded at her as he walked past her with Arisa walking next to him arm-in-arm.

"Try to not cause too much chaos, can you do that?" She merely rolled her eyes without even looking at her.

"We will come visit later!" Abeline promised with a big smile before running off to catch up with the rest of them.

Harune watched them go for a moment in silence before eventually speaking up:

"And off they go. Well, shall we do the same then, Eve?" She turned around to the pinkette only to realize said woman had already ditched her and gone off to on her own. "Wah, Eve. Wait for me, please!"

Inori, not even slowing down for her to catch up, merely heard how the footsteps of her warden eventually caught up to her due to the clacking her shoes produced on the spotlessly clean floor as she came running up to her.

"Whew, don't just leave me like that. I will get lonely." She tried to write the matter off as a joke despite clearly knowing better.

"I don't need a babysitter." Was all Inori said to her, not even looking into her general direction.

"Aww, don't view me as your babysitter. I am supposed to be more of a…well…" She was seen putting a finger on her lips as she tried thinking of a better term. Eventually her expression lit up excitedly and she began to grin: "Your handmaiden!"

Raising a brow at the unfamiliar term, Inori couldn't help but ask: "What's that supposed to be?"

"Well…" The brunette girl scratched her cheek awkwardly, not being entirely sure herself. "I think that's what servants of the queen were called back in the days…"

"But, as I have clearly told you yesterday, I am not your queen, so…"

"But you _are_." She interrupted the pinkette by getting in her way, causing her to stop walking and look at her for once. "It doesn't matter if we are Genesis or not. Everyone in this damn base looks up to you and respects you as their one true ruler, Eve."

"Or,…" Inori told her with a displeased frown. "and this is far more plausible to me, they just look up to me because I am the only one who could grant them evolution which comes with more power and time to live."

"You can't know that…" Harune tried to disagree calmly.

"Well, neither can you, right?"

"Well, if you put it that way, I actually kind of can…" The ex-shopkeeper told her with an awkward laugh as she scratched her cheek again, looking away.

Her remark caused Inori to blink at her in perplexity for a second before she shook her head in annoyance and moved around her to continue her way. "Forget it."

"You don't have to be so cold, you know?" The queen could hear her sigh behind her. "I know we might not have had the best start, but I am sure we could get along just fine if you just gave me a chance? I am actually quite confident in my social skills."

"Well, I am not." Inori merely replied bitterly.

"Don't be like that, Eve. I know you have plenty of friends."

She stopped walking for a second, turning around to her follower forcefully.

"Yes, but that was just coincidence." She looked down for a second in sadness. "If it weren't for Shu, I would still be alone. Because I forced my way into his life, I forced my way into his social circle as well, and just like that I ended up gaining friends."

"Even so, that's totally fine, though?" Harune stated with a carefree shrug. "Many people only get to know people because they get introduced to them by other ones."

"I don't want to be part of your circle, though."

"Why not? Because I joined Da'ath? Why reduce me to that aspect alone? I was Harune long before I became the envoy's assistant. And I am sure you were Inori long before you became Eve as well, so why not start there?"

Inori put her hands on her hips and looked at the brunette girl thoughtfully, realizing that she couldn't deny her words. She disliked being reduced to her title of Eve, so it may be impolite to do the same with this girl.

"You raise a valid point, I suppose." She eventually admitted in defeat.

"See? I knew you could be reasonable." Harune said with a soft smile, followed by putting her right hand on her chest. "Hello, my name is Kanzaki Harune."

"…Yuzuriha Inori." The pinkette simply responded with her name after some hesitation. It was quite apparent that she wasn't all too sure whether or not she was doing the right thing here.

"Nice to meet you, Inori." Gleaming at her, Harune tried her best to make a friendly and approachable impression.

"This is so awkward…" Inori couldn't help but note with a quiet laugh. And it meant something if even _she_ could figure that out. You knew you were in quite the tricky situation if it was weird enough for even Inori to notice. After all, she was still getting used to most of society's quirks and perks.

"It will only be like that in the beginning, you'll see." She told her confidently, fully believing that they could get through this initial obstacle of awkwardness. There was always a way!

"So, what now? Are you going to give me the Da'ath recruitment propaganda now?" The queen asked full of suspicion.

"Relax! There won't be any Da'ath talk if you don't want there to be. We could talk about different things instead to get to know each other better." She told her with a gentle smile, causing the queen to tilt her head ever so slightly in wonder.

"Like what?"

"Like…" Yeah, wait a second. What exactly was she supposed to talk to Inori about? Dramas Harune had watched and enjoyed? Fashion trends? She knew Inori had been stuck in the void realm for five years. No television or fashion there. Needless to say that Tokyo had been stuck in a lockdown for weeks now. Who even gave a crap about fashion? But what else was there? Inori did not want to talk about Da'ath and when it came to things she and Inori might have had in common, there weren't a whole lot of them coming to mind.

Crap. It was only now that Harune even understood how fundamentally different they both had been right from the start. They might as well have been born on different planets for all it mattered. How could she become her friend that way? The only connection they actually shared was…

"Well, we both know Shu, I suppose…?" She winced when she saw Inori folding her arms at her, clearly not impressed.

"So? Everyone knows Shu. If not from before my return then at least now that we have become terrorists."

"N-no, I mean personally!"

"Oh?" Inori raised a brow at that.

"He came into our shop almost every week. I fancied the thought he might have done so because of me." She confessed with a faint shade of red spreading on her cheeks. This caused Inori to blink at her in surprise.

"Do you…like Shu?"

Nervously fidgeting around with her hands in front of her, she looked down and said: "Please don't be mad, it was just a crush. Needless to say, I have given up on it."

"…why?"

This time it was Harune's turn to be surprised. Why did Eve sound so disappointed? Shouldn't she be happy?

"Excuse me?"

Inori could only sigh at that. "Love is a powerful feeling, it might even be the very best one there is. I find it hard to believe it is one someone would just give up on. If they did, they might have mistaken the feeling for something else, like Arisa does for example."

"You think I am lying and secretly going after your Adam instead? You don't have to worry about that." Harune tried to reassure her calmly, only to see the queen shaking her head at her instead, closing her eyes and bringing up her hand to her chest with a happy smile.

"I am not worried. Shu's feeling for me are strong and true. His love for me will never waver. And neither will mine for him."

"I am…conflicted. Should I feel moved or sad by that statement? I know I said I gave up, but somehow those words just now kind of stung." She admitted with a crooked smile.

"So, tell me." Inori then suddenly said with sparkling eyes. "What is it you love about Shu?"

"H-huh?" Well, that was a first. Someone eagerly asking what others loved about their lover, even seeming excited about it. To think _that_ would be the topic that would bring them together...under normal circumstances it would have done the opposite. Did everything about this girl work backwards? Oh well, if it worked, it worked.

"I initially only idolized him because I thought he was a hero for saving many people, including my father's life." She thus began explaining to Inori who for some reason listened to her eagerly. The way she looked at her expectantly made her smile in return. There was something very pure about her eyes. A look you just couldn't help but meet with happiness. Almost like looking into the big, happy eyes of a puppy.

"You wouldn't believe how shocked I was when I saw him entering our store the first time. It was like as if some Hollywood star had randomly decided to walk in. I think I couldn't even talk to him properly. My father had had to step in. The shock eventually eased up on me once he continued to visit. That's when I eventually noticed that even though he was surrounded by this bright and shiny aura of heroism and hope that inspired me, deep down, he was a horribly broken man. For years I have tried cracking the walls he had built around himself but whenever I thought I might have made progress, it turned out that I had just imagined it all along. It was as if something was holding him back, preventing me from fixing him, but he would never tell me why. It wasn't until I finally got to see the way he looked at you that I realized that you had been the reason all along. He wouldn't let others fix him because the only one who could fix him had been you all along." Harune told her with a defeated smile. "That's when I was forced to give up on him. You fixed him instantly where I couldn't even make progress after years. What you two share with each other? It is special."

Inori who had listened to Harune's story eagerly so far, couldn't help but frown in confusion in the end.

"Wait, what do you mean you got to see us? I have never met you before."

"Ah, you wouldn't have known, but we did meet once before, though I looked slightly different. More like this." The brunette girl laughed and put both her hands up to her head to mimic a cat's ears. "Nya~"

"Wha…" Inori took a step back in confusion before realization slowly befell her. The only cat she had actually seen ever since she had come back to this world had been… "Wait, you can't mean…the cat in that looted store. That was you?" As confusion slowly made room for anger, so did the volume of her voice rise, though at that point, she wasn't even completely sure what exactly her anger was directed towards anymore. Harune for having fooled her all along, herself for not having even considered the possibility, cats for being so cute that she had naturally left her guard down or Da'ath as a whole for using animals as spies.

Harune couldn't help but grin excitedly. "Yep, it's impressive what voids can do, right? You definitely should try it some time. Being a cat was quite the experience, I can tell you that."

Inori gritted her teeth in frustration as she finally understood that her and Shu's situation had been hopeless right from the very beginning. If Harune had seen them there, they had never been safe for even just a second. It was as if they would play into Da'ath's hands no matter what they did. And the worst part about it all was that they had never even noticed they had been played until it already had been too late.

"I see…should have killed you back when I still had the chance…" Inori mumbled to herself darkly as she turned around. The brunette behind her flinched at that.

"W-what an awful thing to say, don't you think…?"

That was when Inori turned around, stepped forward and angrily pushed her right finger against the spy's chest. "Considering it was you who sold us out to Da'ath, no…I don't." She narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"Sold out…it's not really fair to accuse me of that, is it? After all, I couldn't possibly have known you two would actually be opposed to joining Da'ath. I was under the impression I would be helping you."

Inori stepped back and looked at her as if she wasn't sure whether she was supposed to laugh at that or punch her in the face. " _Help_ us? You mean like helping us put a noose around our necks or...?"

"Inori, could you please stop being emotional for one second and just calmly think about my position regarding this matter? The last time I saw Shu was one day before this whole mess even started. After weeks of being worried about his wellbeing after he had been falsely accused of being a terrorist I finally get to see him with a broken leg, unable to even move on his own, desperately looking for shelter. Yuu had given me no reason to assume you and Shu would be hiding from Da'ath and I actually still can't comprehend why you would have, but even if I _had_ known of that fact, I would still have told Yuu about Shu and you because you two needed help." Harune explained her reasoning to her calmly, yet determinedly, truly believing in her actions to have been right and not willing to let Inori claim otherwise.

The woman in question put a hand on her forehead and held back an annoyed groan, turning around to collect herself so that she wouldn't snap at the girl in front of her. For the first time in a while, Inori realized she had actually trouble with keeping the hot sensation of anger that rose up inside her from boiling over. With a deep breath, however, she eventually managed to remain at least halfway composed about all this so that when she decided to face her so called "handmaiden" again, her voice would be sharp but not furious.

"Okay, you know what? You are right. We _needed_ help. But not _that_ help! Thanks to _your_ help, my friends and I got severely hurt in the process and now I am imprisoned in this…Da'ath cesspool where even the crystals which _should_ obey me, won't because my former nemesis kindly decided to torment me even from inside the grave."

The queen had expected defiance and excuses coming out of the brunette's mouth next , but got surprised when she saw her facial expression soften and growing regretful instead as she lowered her gaze.

"I am sorry, Inori. For things to end this way, I really am. I never intended for it to come to this, believe me. I would have never thought you two would actually resist Da'ath. It was supposed to be help I sent you, but ended up being an obstacle instead. And even though I had no bad intentions when I did what I did, I sincerely wish I can make it up to you and Shu one day."

Seeing her anger being met with nothing but regret and honesty eventually helped Inori with cooling down the bubbling hot mass rising up inside her. Closing her eyes and relaxing her muscles, by the time she opened them again, she had managed to cast away the majority of her negative emotions.

"Why did you join Da'ath, Harune? Tell me." She wished to know. The girl before her looked back at her with eyes full of determination. Not a speck of doubt was seen reflected in them as she spoke:

"To bring the end of the cycle of death the apocalypse brings with it. To assist Shu in becoming king over the world and rebuild it together with you into a place people can be happy in. Da'ath's wishes and my own wishes align perfectly so I didn't hesitate to join them when Yuu had brought the offer to me. I thought it was fate that had brought us together and that I should devote the life he had saved to help him help you and Shu with fulfilling your destiny of bringing the apocalypse."

After hearing all this, Inori could only shake her head with a pained smile. "If you wanted to stop the apocalypse, all it would have taken you to succeed was to keep Da'ath away from us. Shu and I never intended there to be an apocalypse in the first place."

But Harune only shook her head slowly in disagreement. "That's not the same. Resisting the apocalypse is an act of futility. You can prevent it times again and again, but in the end, Eve will always come back and be forced to try again. The only way to stop the apocalypse, is to bring the apocalypse so that the Eve curse ends and we all will finally be free to live in peace at last."

"But by doing that, more people will die than in all the previous failed apocalypses together."

"That's still better than being stuck in a world which can't move forward. People will continue to die, the survivors will be forced to rebuild and just when they might have thought their lives had returned back to normal, another apocalypse will strike and rob them of yet another person important to them. I have gone through this too many times now and have lost everything at this point, but I refuse to let others go though the same pain as well. If we can't avoid the apocalypse, it's better to end it all in one swift go instead of dragging it on for years to come. This is why I am assisting Da'ath in making you and Shu king and queen. You two will be the saviors of the human race, even if humanity itself may not understand that yet."

Silence embraced those two as the queen chose to get a picture of the brunette's motivations and goals. With a frown, she eventually came to the conclusion that she, at her very core, wasn't a bad girl, but had merely chosen to take a fundamentally wrong turn on her path to make her goal become reality. Well, assuming everything the girl had said was actually the truth.

There was logic in her claim that it would theoretically be easier for humanity on the long run if Inori and Shu would just bring the apocalypse and be done with it. If the world had been a bit simpler, it might even have applied to her and Shu as well. However, and this was what Harune ultimately did not understand, with Da'ath acting behind the scene and trying to dictate their every move, bringing the apocalypse was actually the worst thing they could actually do. That was because the apocalypse was the only thing Da'ath couldn't perform on their own, thus having to force Shu and Inori to do it _for_ them. That in itself may have sounded like a bad thing, but it was also the couple's biggest trump card if you thought about it rationally.

Shu and Inori had something Da'ath wanted, thus forcing them to come for Adam and Eve. It _exposed_ the normally so secret organization and offered them the opportunity to strike them down. If Shu and Inori were to waste that advantage and thoughtlessly brought the apocalypse now, Da'ath would get what they wanted and disappear back into the shadows again, possibly forever. There would be no way to find them again and no way to get rid of them either. At that point, Shu and Inori would never know if their actions were even still their own or merely being directed by Da'ath from behind the scenes. A horrible outcome if you thought about it. Da'ath already was nothing but a pain when they still _needed_ them, so how much worse would they possibly become once they actually wouldn't? A scary thought to have.

This was why Da'ath needed to be removed before the apocalypse happened. If their removal could not be achieved, so would the apocalypse have to be prevented. It was the only way to guarantee a future in which Shu and Inori could both become happy together.

Harune didn't understand this currently, but if Inori were to succeed in undoing the envoy's brain washing, perhaps she could succeed in breaking free and end the bastard's life herself before Shu had to come? At the very least, it was worth a shot. And even if it wouldn't work, it probably still was better to have her where Inori could see her rather than planning intrigues against her and Shu behind their backs. Jun had once told her something about holding your enemies close. This must be what he must have meant.

"Alright, fine. I will keep you around. For now."

"Really? Thank you!" From out of nowhere, the brunette girl showed her relief by suddenly hugging Inori happily, albeit only for a second before she eventually seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly let go of her instead. "Uh, sorry. I was just really afraid you would shun me, so…"

"Why is it so important to you?"

Harune could only smile sheepishly in return, putting both her hands behind her back innocently. "Well, I told you I support your and Shu's candidacy for kingship and my best bet to achieve that is by making you two work together with Da'ath. To make this possible, I need to fix your somehow bad relationship by becoming the middle ground for both parties to use in order to grow closer again. It's politics."

Hearing her reasoning, Inori could only chuckle and roll her eyes at her. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen, Harune. But I will give you credit for your diplomatic approach at least."

"Well, if it won't work, I will at least have gained a new friend, so there is no loss for me regardless, right?"

"Right…" More like acquaintances at best, Inori thought. For some reason, she saw Harune look away with a defeated smile for a second before she returned to her normal cheerful self. "Something the matter?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. It was just that I have only just now realized how big my goals actually are. I have lots of work ahead of me regarding Da'ath and you."

"Well, disregarding your agenda revolving Da'ath, what's the plan for me now? Since the envoy wanted to assign you to me, I suppose you want to give me the tour or something?" Inori asked with a sigh, not really all that motivated to be dragged around a base she already knew for the most part.

That was when Harune took out a small tablet from her coat's pocket and began flipping through some digital pages. "Well, you are not wrong, I have had some places in mind to show you, but seeing that you already went to school here, most of the more interesting places we have here might not be all that new to you. However, there might still be a few you could be interested in."

"Such as?"

The queen saw Harune grin proudly at her as she excitedly responded: "Mana's throne room. No one actually has been allowed in there as far as I have been told. Even Tsutsugami Gai was never in there. It was an Eve-exclusive place. Curious?" The brunette cockily narrowed her eyes at her with a devious smirk. It was obvious the girl wanted nothing more than take a look herself with Inori being the perfect excuse to actually get in there.

_P-perhaps that's not a good idea. One is supposed to respect the dead, right. If Mana did not want anyone in there, maybe it's for the best we respect that wish?"_

Huh, and there was that voice from before again, telling her to not go. Suspicious. Perhaps there was a connection to explore? And besides, it wasn't as if Inori had anything better to do right now.

"Let's go then."

_Aw, come on!_

The pinkette disregarded the voice and let herself be led through the old school building by Harune. The people they passed by seemed to notice them and quite a few stopped what they were doing to quietly bow at Inori as she passed them by. Some even greeted her with "Your majesty."

This was troublesome for Inori because she had never really had to worry about who it was that had decided to follow her. In the past, she had had no problem with accepting everyone who had asked for her guidance and protection. But these people…they were acting like her vassals despite Inori never having agreed to be their queen in any way. She had no intention of protecting them, so being referred to as their queen was…awkward. Who were they to decide such a thing _for_ her?

"This is the main elevator. It should take us to Mana's lair. This is exciting, isn't it?" Harune said with a huge grin as she approached one of the four crystal platforms in front of them. Two in front, two directly behind them, thus being placed in a square position. Looking around, Inori realized that this place must have been where the main stairways had previously been. Tennozu High's main school building had had 3 floors previously, one for each year. Freshmen classrooms used to be on the first floor, second years on the second and seniors were usually located at the top. The three stairways to reach those floors had been located at the ends of each floor's hallways as well as the center of it. The central was the one Inori was supposed to stand in front of now, only to realize it had been completely removed and replaced by these huge crystal platform floating where the stairway used to be. Looking up from here, the pinkette could see that there were now floors beyond the three initial floors albeit completely formed by crystals. The elevator shaft for the floating crystals to take reached far, far up into the very top of the crystal tower Inori had already seen from outside.

"How many floors are there?" She asked curiously.

"Mana added three full floors on top of the already existing ones. The tower itself has several floors as well, though not all of them are as big as the first six. Mana's throne is located at the very top which should correspond to the fifteenth or sixteenth floor. Hard to say, as they aren't all equally big." Her guide explained to her while reading the data from her tablet. A diagram of the base was displayed there. Inori nodded at that. Sounded a lot like her own place back in the void realm, only that they had a fast-travel station to go up and down. That probably hadn't been an option, though, seeing as there were also humans in this base who couldn't use crystals, after all. This also explained why a Genesis was located near the platforms, probably waiting for humans to ask for assistance with operating the elevators. The young man was about to approach Harune as he noticed she was heading to one of the crystal platforms, but eventually noticed Inori trotting behind her and let off them, figuring that if Inori was with her, she could perfectly well operate the crystals for her.

The brunette quickly jumped on top of the closest platform and waited for Inori to do the same. Inori wasn't so sure whether or not the crystals would actually listen to her since her connection to them had been severed ever since she had come here, but to her surprise, the moment Inori had stepped on it and thought "Take me to the top, please", the structure began glowing and several crystal posts began constructing themselves on each corner of the hexagon shaped platform. Once erected, several horizontal bars began linking the posts with each other, thus creating a fence that prevented people from falling over. The platform then began moving upwards in a moderate pace.

"Amazing…" Inori gasped and proceeded to touch one of the posts in fascination. "Autonomic construction and levitation. Such outstanding craftsmanship. I knew it was possible, but to see it work so flawlessly…if only I could read the crystals to see how Mana had made them…"

She did try, of course, but no matter which part of the construction she touched, it remained pure gibberish to her. An incomprehensible allocation of meaningless formulas, which even changed itself constantly to top it off. This meant the crystals weren't merely encrypted to her, they were just telling her complete bullshit which didn't even make the faintest bit of sense to her. She had never seen this happening before. How terribly frustrating it really was.

"You don't know how to make those?" Harune gave herself surprised to hear that.

"Crystal creation may appear easy on first glance, but it is actually rather complex on the inside. There are many ways to get to your goal and some are more suitable for a certain situation than others. You could say it's a lot like crafting where two people could each make a table, for example, but it would never be the exact same thing. So, while I do know what I theoretically need to do to make a crystal like this, it would never be like this one unless I could look into the crystal and see how exactly it was made. And even then would it only become an imitation, never an exact copy. The handwriting would be different." Inori explained with a sad sigh.

"So even Eves have different styles, huh."

"Yes, and it's a shame Mana's was lost. Back when I was still just a fake Eve, I used to envy Mana for all the complex crystals she could form. But even now that I have her ability, her particular skill was still not transferred over, making the few crystals she has left behind precious and unique artifacts. No Eve that will come after her will be able to copy her work, or mine."

"I would consider that to be a good thing. It means Eves can't be reduced to their title alone and every Eve to come will leave their mark in history through their creations." Harune told Inori with a gentle smile. Inori, however, could only look down in sadness.

"But Mana barely had the chance to do so…and the few crystals she has left behind are only in the way…" Inori muttered sadly, sounding slightly annoyed at the last part. It sucked that Inori probably had to tear this fortress down once she would gain control over her own actions again. She would rather protect Mana's creations for future generation to witness, preserving their artistic value in the process. Contrary to that woman's foul character, her craftsmanship had truly been beautiful in its own way.

"Is it that bad?" Her handmaiden asked her with quite some sympathy, not able to even imagine how bad it must be for Inori to be disconnected from the crystal network. And naturally so, for only Eve could truly understand the importance of crystals.

To humans, crystals were just rocks. To Genesis, crystals were a convenience, but to Eve crystals were an extension of her body. She could feel and move them around like she could with her arms, see through them like through her own eyes. To suddenly lose that feeling was crippling, as if parts of her had been amputated. It was more than just unpleasant. It felt…alien. Especially since she still could move crystals, yet couldn't feel their presence. Have you ever tried walking with a leg that's gone dead? It wasn't easy, let alone pleasant.

And then there was the absence of the crystal network as a whole. Her connection with all the other Genesis. True, Inori would have to lie if she claimed she wouldn't block out their voiced most of the time anyway, but to not even hear the faintest whisper in the very back of her head was so unnerving. After so many years of there always having been _something_ to suddenly be confronted with total silence was scary. It felt as if everyone had just suddenly _died_. To a queen who loved and wanted to protect her vassals, the mere thought was downright horrifying.

And the worst of it all, the inability to receive Shu's feelings. The warmth and reassurance they provided her with. Their guarantee that he was alive and well. Gone! If Da'ath were to use the opportunity to go and kill him, he wouldn't even be able to reach out for her and ask for help. He could be cut down and slowly bleed out in some cold and lonely street out there with her none the wiser. She had to gulp down a heavy lump that had formed itself in her throat at the mere imagination of such a nightmarish scenario.

"It's the absolute worst, Harune. You couldn't imagine." She thus replied truthfully with folded arms and looking away.

"Eves don't have it easy, huh."

Inori could only sigh at that in agreement. "No one in this damn city does."

Silence embraced them as the platform slowly ascended towards the top floor. They had long since reached the newer crystal floors, which glowed in their own beautiful way. It was rhythmical, almost like a pulse, creating the illusion of them actually being alive. They also seemed to be able to conduct electricity as Inori was able to spot a few perfectly functioning screens hanging on a wall here and there as they went up and passed a few floors. Curiosity got the better of her as she felt the desire to investigate how exactly these crystals were formed and behaving, but she knew it was of no use as she wouldn't be able to read them anyway so she perished the thought soon after. Once during their ascend, Inori also noticed how one of the lower crystal platforms had shot upwards in an enormous speed, having been rotated sideways to create less air resistance as it flew upwards only to eventually assume it standard horizontal alignment once it had reached a certain floor. A group of people got on it and used the platform to descend, though now in a moderate speed. Inori watched them go down with interest as they passed them. Another interesting function of these elevator platforms.

Given how their ride couldn't go forever, though, they eventually reached the very top where the hexagonal platform gradually slowed down and the fence around it shattered apart, allowing its passengers to get off.

"So here we are, the first people aside from Mana who ever came here." Harune told her queen with an eager smirk, curiously looking around.

"How could you be so sure of that?" Inori wanted to know with a raised brow.

"Because many people had tried to come up here, but the elevator would never go higher than the floor below this one. Only Eve could tell the elevator to go to the very top. Fast travel is also impossible. Mana seemed to be adamant about keeping others out of this place. Which leaves the question: Why?"

"When have you become a news reporter looking for a story?" The pinkette asked amusedly.

"A girl needs her gossip. People in this base were weaving the most absurd theories and rumors about this place, so I just had to find out for myself."

"And? Happy with what you found?"

"Well, I was hoping for something horrible or kinky to be found here, but all there is are some sculptures and an, admittedly, quite enormous throne. Surprisingly normal for someone of Mana's reputation." Harune admitted as she examined her surroundings with one finger on her lips.

"Maybe that's the reason she had locked everyone else out? To escape everyone else's prejudices or to preserve her image as a cold ruler?" Inori formed a theory as she took her first steps forward to have a closer look around.

The throne room itself was rather big, kind of like her own one had been in the void realm. The ceiling consisted of an almost perfectly shaped dome that looked like it had been created by having the outside getting polished long enough so that it eventually became almost round in shape. The light of the afternoon sun made it sparkle like a jewel, creating various patterns on the floor as the light got refracted by the crystals. Looking up, Inori noticed an interesting phenomenon. The walls which were mostly see-through like windows became more and more opaque the closer they got to the direction of the sun. This, normally, would mean that the room would get darker than it currently was, but that wasn't the case because the light got reflected from all the various parts of the dome and thus illuminated the darker parts and the whole area as a result. That way, you could never get blinded inside here, but it would never be completely dark, either. Fascinating, as Inori found.

Aside from that, there was a spacious door leading to what seemed to be a huge balcony from which you could overlook the whole area. Naturally, you could also do that from inside due to the walls not obstructing the view, but it would be nice in case you wanted to catch some fresh air, Inori mused. A frown found its way on her face as she suddenly bemoaned the fact that she hadn't possessed a balcony in her throne room back in the void realm. Why hadn't she thought of that? So cool!

But then again, it had been the void realm. The concept of fresh air had seemed absurd there. It had been such a bizarre place, after all. Who knew if they had even inhaled air at that place, or whether breathing itself hadn't just been an illusion as a whole.

Shaking her head to lose those useless thoughts, the queen checked the rest of the room. There was the throne, of course, an enormous and symmetrical crystal formation that was impressive enough to make it seem as if the seat alone took up the majority of the room's space, making everything else dwarf before it. You could almost say the throne itself was enthroned over everything else in the room, with its queen sitting there or not, although Inori knew that thought was rather silly. For once the initial amazement over the throne's beautiful and extravagant ornaments and decorations would eventually fade, so would the onlooker realize in the end that it was nothing more but a simple piece of furniture. Beautiful and impressive in design and size, but worthless without its queen nonetheless.

The funny thing with thrones was that many people would spend all their lives imagining how it would feel like to finally get to sit on one. The reality, though? They were uncomfortable as hell. Inori found herself never sitting on one more than she actually had to. She would take a comfy sofa over these damn thrones any day. How come kings and queens couldn't sit on those instead? She would never know. Somehow she doubted that Mana had actually spent much time in hers, either. Especially when no one ever got to see her sit in it, which, to Inori, appeared to be the sole point of it. The only reason it probably existed was because Mana had had fun designing and creating the thing, given how gigantic it was and how much fantasy had gone into decorating it. Aside from that, though? It might as well have been a throne of dust, for that was likely the only thing that ever sat on it.

The most interesting thing about this room, however, wasn't the throne but actually the sculptures that were scattered all around the place. Countless beautifully crafted and detailed statues were arranged in a way you would normally see in an exhibition in a museum. Unlike Inori's pitiful crystal recreation of Shu she had done for Abeline and Zoe back at Arisa's, these pieces of art were actually of quite some high quality. Created with multiple different types of crystals that varied in color and complexity, they almost created the illusion of having a real person standing in front of you. There was so much detail worked into them that you would believe these people had really been there and merely frozen in place. At least until you touched them to realize they were hard and cold as…well…crystals.

They depicted people which, after closer inspection, Inori seemed to know. The first one she threw her eyes on was a young woman in her late twenties or very early thirties, maybe. She had long, shoulder-length dark brown hair and wore glasses in front of her eyes of like color. She was dressed in a typical summer dress which came with a matching hat. In one of her hands she held a bouquet of wildflowers while offering the viewer a kind and gentle smile. The other hand was used to hold her hat down to protect it from wind which, according to the position of her hair and dress, must have blown gently at the time the statue must have been "frozen" in time.

"I feel like I have seen that person somewhere before…" Inori mumbled to herself as she gently traced the statue with her fingers, careful, almost worried she might accidentally break it.

" _Ah, yes. This is a sculpture of my mother, Saeko Ouma."_ Inori could suddenly hear Mana's voice in her head. She yelped out of surprise and retracted her hand instantly, looking around in confusion.

Harune, having heard her sudden yelp, flinched and shrieked as well, turning around to Inori in order to ask her what was wrong.

"W-what is it?"

"I…don't know. I suddenly heard Mana's voice out of nowhere and panicked." She admitted meekly." Her explanation seemed to freak Harune out even more as she kept looking around nervously.

"You mean this place is actually haunted?"

"I don't hear her anymore, though…"

"Maybe you imagined it?"

"Maybe…" Inori muttered to herself before eventually facing the statue again. "Or maybe…" She brought her finger back to it, slowly and gently touching it again.

" _Ah, yes. This is a sculpture of my mother, Saeko Ouma."_ Mana's voice explained once more, causing Inori to narrow her eyes in confirmation. She knew it. Closing her eyes eventually, she let out a relieved sigh and told Harune:

"It was just a recording. It plays whenever someone touches the sculptures."

"Huh, really?" As if to confirm, Harune tried touching the nearest statue only to frown when nothing seemed to happen. Inori could only laugh at her in amusement.

"Genesis-only, of course."

"Are you freaking kidding me…? That's so lame…" Her handmaiden grumbled as she voiced her obvious disappointment at being unable to hear Mana, despite having been afraid of being haunted by her not even half a minute ago.

Disregarding the brunette for now, Inori took a deep breath and touched the statue for a third time. Let's see what Mana had to say.

" _Ah, yes. This is a sculpture of my mother, Saeko Ouma. This one has been a bit tough to complete for various reasons. It was hard catching the wind in that moment I was trying to depict my mother in. And then there were all these emotions welling up inside me as I sculpted her."_ Her voice became somewhat sad. _"She died very early in my life, her infection with the apocalypse virus probably being caused by the high exposure to the me back then who hadn't mastered control over the virus yet. I don't think I was really able to truly understand what death meant back when she died because I don't remember being as sad about it as I am now. Part of me still wishes I could return to that blissful and childish ignorance that made me not realize that it had been my fault my mother had died. I still remember that day I went on a journey through the void realm to look for her. I was determined she would be there waiting for me. All I wanted was to go to her, apologize and maybe see her smile for me, telling me that it was okay. That she would forgive me."_ There was a small pause.

" _But of course I didn't find her. I used to have hope and tell myself it was due to the enormous size of the realm. That she could still be there somewhere. But thinking about it logically, she would have had plenty of opportunities to find me if she really was. After all, her stupid daughter had been the queen of the place, right? Wouldn't have been hard to find me and confront me for my sins. I wouldn't have minded if she had hated me, scorned me. If only I could have seen her one more time and just told her that I am sorry, it would have been enough."_ She sighed in deep sadness. " _That never happened, though, so either she didn't make it through the apocalypse or she did and merely decided to stay away from me. I don't know which option would be worse. If only I had know how to bless people back then…these days I am handing out blessings for these stupid Da'ath executives I don't even know. I would send them all off to hell to bring my mother back. Yeah, as if that would ever work, right?"_ She chuckled weakly. _"To be honest, I could really use some motherly guidance right about now. I am so lost…hey, Mom, what should this stupid daughter of yours do? Won't you tell me?"_ It was silent for a second and Inori thought for a second the recording was over before Mana's quiet, yet defeated and short laugh followed up. " _I guess not."_

Inori thought she might have heard her on the verge of crying before the recording eventually broke off. It was quite clear to her right then and there what this room had been for Mana and why no one had been allowed to enter. I was her "alone-time" room, a sanctuary to return to whenever the stress got to her and she needed time for herself. Inori had done that a lot back in the void realm, but she would have never thought Mana had been the same. It seemed like Mana had been quite successful with building up a front to never show others her weak side. She probably couldn't have afforded to.

Inori's gaze went back to the statue itself. So that was Mana's mother. Shu's, too. That would explain where she had seen her before. There had been photos of her back in his apartment. She had never heard Shu talk about her at all. Mana had said she had died very early. Perhaps he had never even gotten to meet her. How sad. Come to think of it, Inori didn't know who her mother was, either. Or if there even was one. She wondered if she was still alive out there if she ever even had existed in the first place. What would she think of her daughter being Eve and destined to bring the apocalypse? Would she be ashamed? Would she be proud? Which one of these options would Inori prefer?

She shook her head slowly, wanting to dismiss that pointless train of thought. Facing the next statue, she realized that it was a man who looked a lot like Shu, albeit older. The main difference apart from age would have been the stubby beard and glasses. There also was this different aura around him and looking into that man's eyes felt a bit different that looking into Shu's. They were still kind and warm, but there was something sad about them. The way he had small bags under his eyes told her how little sleep he must have gotten in the past and there was worry hidden behind the façade of goofiness that radiated from the grin he displayed for the audience. His posture was relaxed, hands in the pockets of the lab coat he wore.

" _Kurosu Ouma, my father."_ Mana began explaining after Inori had made contact with the structure. Mana continued after a deep sigh. _"Can't really tell much about him because I hardly ever even saw the man, especially after Mom had died. He had been obsessed with studying up on the apocalypse virus. Maybe to stop it, or maybe to get revenge for mother. I wouldn't know, he never told me, or anyone, really. I sculpted him the way he always looked like, wearing a lab coat, unshaven and running on caffeine. When Haruka would bring me with her to visit him, he would show me that goofy grin to make me feel better about his constant absence. Otherwise it would have probably been more accurate to make him sit down on a chair, facing away from the viewer and burying his face into some computer screen."_ She couldn't help but utter a quiet "Tch" before continuing in a more saddened voice. _"Sometimes I wonder if it had been because he knew. That it had been me who had killed mother. Maybe he had hated me for it. Maybe that was why he had wanted to stay away from us. If he hadn't died before me, I wonder, would he have been glad to learn of the fact that I had blown myself up during Lost Christmas? Would he have cried? Or perhaps he wouldn't have even noticed, still glued to that computer of his, looking for answers he could never find."_

And here we had Shu's father. The resemblance was undeniable, of course. Almost uncanny. That's biology for you, eh? It was almost scary what a couple of chromosomes could possibly achieve. She wondered how alike father and son might have been, had both been alive at the same time. Mana didn't seem like she had thought all that highly of her father, mainly because she had accused him of never really having been there for her. Inori wondered if that was really true, though, because if he hadn't really cared about her or even hated her, why would he have even bothered with putting up a goofy grin whenever she had come to visit? Inori thought that he must have cared a lot and that he had worked so much in order to try and find a way to perhaps save his children from the apocalypse virus. Or maybe even the fate of Eve if he had really known about it.

But then again, maybe Mana had actually known all that deep down herself and merely chosen to deny all of it because doing otherwise would have meant admitting that she had been at fault for killing her father as well. Since, ultimately, he had died because he had tried so hard to save his children. Inori knew that because Gai had told her that the void genome was based on research stolen from Ouma Kurosu. If that research had really been based on his goal to protect his children, Inori had no doubts that he would have protected it with his own life.

"Wait a second, isn't that Yuu?" Harune's mumble brought her back into reality as she turned around to face her. Checking out the statue in front of the brunette girl, Inori could only confirm her words.

"Mana seemed to have formed these statues based on people she knew, which would mean Yuu was no exception." She explained to her as she walked up to her.

"Mana really was a good sculptor then. It looks totally like him. Look, it even floats." She said excitedly as she pointed towards the floating likeness. It was a one-to-one model of Yuu, looking exactly like the blond man they had just parted ways with not even half an hour ago. Even the clothes matched! He was leaned back in midair, one leg thrown over the other and his head resting on his fist as he smirked with closed eyes, looking as if he was in the middle of doing what he apparently enjoyed the most. Talking.

" _Well, this is Yuu. Envoy of Da'ath."_ Mana began explaining soon after Inori made contact with the crystal depicting the envoy. _"Sculpting him was easy aside from making the crystal float. He hasn't changed by one bit from the first time I met him, still always talking and explaining things in midair."_ She laughed slightly _."He suddenly started appearing soon after I had found that damn meteorite. I was scared when I started changing and getting these powers, but he was always there to tell me it would be alright. That it wasn't something to be scared of. He said it was a gift from nature and that I should embrace it. According to him I would make a lot of people happy with it. I believed him, or rather, I desperately hoped that he was right. The alternative would have meant that I was a monster and as coincidence would have had it, I wasn't one of the girls whose dream had been to become a monster when I grew up."_ Inori could almost picture how Mana had sarcastically rolled her eyes at that part. _"He kept encouraging me to go further, to reach my limits and develop to my full potential. I used to believe it had been because he wanted to support me, but now that I've grown up, I can't help but wonder if that had really been the case. Had it really been him who has supported me, or had it been me who had helped him instead? It didn't really matter, though, as it had been a lucrative partnership for both of us. I hate to admit it, but I have needed him back then or else I might have really turned insane. Being Eve can be a heavy burden for a mere child…"_ Her somewhat nostalgic voice suddenly changed into a bitter one.

" _But still, I am a little girl no longer and so I am not in need of a caretaker anymore. I used to believe that Da'ath needed me, but all they needed was Eve. They don't really give a rat's ass about me, so why should I? They have grown to be a burden for me by now and I would rather rid myself from them sooner than later. Yuu is smart and cunning. He might realize how I have begun feeling towards them soon and that might cause troubles. I just hope I can bring that darn apocalypse soon and be done with them. They won't be able to help me with Shu anymore anyway now that he has made his choice obvious…"_ She began mumbling to herself now, clearly worried and sounding as if she was gnawing on something. Her thumb's nail, perhaps? " _What to do, what to do, what to do…"_

It felt surreal for the queen to imagine Mana as ever having been uncertain or lost. The past had always shown Mana to be decisive and headstrong. A woman who had always known what she had wanted and had stopped at nothing to get it. Hearing her now, Inori had to realize that Mana had been more human than she would have previously thought. Even someone like her had faltered from time to time. It was also interesting to note that Mana had gotten tired of Da'ath as well, which would also explain why she had eventually tried to betray them. So it hadn't just been an impulsive decision from Mana just because she had suddenly changed Adams last second. She had likely only just waited for an opportunity. To either bring the apocalypse if possible or downright cut ties with Da'ath as a whole, whichever would have happened first.

"So, what did it say?" Harune asked her eagerly, being curious what the mysterious Mana might have thought of the envoy. Inori just looked at her with disinterest and responded emotionlessly:

"This is Yuu, envoy of Da'ath, blahblah, he is pretty annoying, blahblah, his breath smells of death. Blah. Blah. Blah. Moving on." Without wasting another second with the envoy's statue, she decided to turn away and check out another one.

"Eeeeeh? That can't be right? Are you sure you didn't misunderstand that somehow?" Harune exclaimed in shock as she kept alternating looking at her queen and the statue of the envoy.

Disregarding the loud brunette, Inori just continued down the line, walking past anyone she didn't really recognize, only stopping again when she ended up spotting what she thought could have been Gai…once.

The problem was, the sculpture had been shattered, only a pile of rubble remained with the head on top of it. For some reason, a statue of a young boy of maybe 6 or 7 years with shoulder length blond hair stood next to the rubble, fully clothed in winter gear consisting of a green winter jacket and an orange scarf. He smiled and held a small Christmas present in his hands. How odd. Why would that stand next to a broken statue of Gai?

"Huh, this one is broken." Harune stated the obvious.

"This was Gai. He ended up becoming her Adam. So why was it destroyed…?" She explained to her as she took the crystal head into her hands to look at it more closely.

" _This is Triton!"_ Mana's voice told her excitedly, only to have all the excitement turn to uncertainty in the end. _"I've redone this one at least twenty times now, but I am not sure whether I like the current one, either. I keep trying to capture his strong, yet gentle demeanor. His serious, yet kind eyes, but it just never comes close to the real one."_ She sighed in frustration. " _Being a perfectionist is tough, but I think I will have to start from scratch this time as well. I just can't put a sub-par impression of Triton next to this perfect replica of his childhood self. It won't do him justice at all. Why must he make it so hard for me, though? Would it kill the guy to smile just once in his life? I can't put his serious self next to this cheerful kid. It ruins the picture…urgh, forget it. I will get back to this project later."_

The queen's impression became somewhat sad hearing this. Gently she placed the crystal head back on the pile of rubble where she had found it.

"Seems like this whole sculpting thing of hers was still work in progress. She wanted to redo this one, but now she will never get around to do it…"

"Really? That's kind of depressing."

"Yeah…she never thought she would suddenly end up dying. Eve was supposed to be immortal, after all." She sighed in sympathy, actually feeling somewhat bad for Mana. Hearing her being so sure to return to this project while knowing that she never would was really saddening. Her gaze went away from the rubble and back to the kid standing next to it. So this was Gai when he had been but a mere child. So innocent. So pure. A smile found its way to Inori's lips just looking at the statue. He had been such a cute kid, she thought. It was a stark contrast to the man he eventually grew up to be…as serious, devoted and charismatic as he had been. She actually would have had serious trouble connecting those two together if it hadn't been for Mana's helpful recording. Sure, the hair and eye color matched, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended. At the very best, she would have thought it could have been his little brother or something.

"Even Gai was small and cute once, huh…" She thought out aloud for a second before a sad realization befell her and forced her to look down in sadness. It hadn't been so long ago that Gai had looked like this…and now? Now he was already dead. He would never be able to show his children pictures of his kid self and make them laugh at him, calling him a liar for showing them a huge contradiction. Mana would never get to be a mother, either. Suddenly Inori felt really bad for having rejected their offer to bring Da'ath down together. Maybe if she and Shu had agreed back then, everyone would still be alive and Da'ath would already be gone. Everyone could have started their own little families and their kids could have maybe even played together and become friends.

Tears started forming in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away before Harune could notice. It was pointless to think about this. Maybe it could have happened, maybe it couldn't have. It didn't matter, though, because that train had already departed. She knew why she and Shu had rejected the offer back then. Maybe it had been wrong of them, maybe it hadn't. All she knew was that they had done what they had thought to be right at the time.

She turned away from kid-Gai and decided to think of happier thoughts instead. Hey, if there was a young Gai, maybe there was a younger version of Mana, too? Even someone as scary as Mana must have been cute as a child, no? That's when she suddenly came to a halt and put both hands on her cheeks as she got an even better thought. A kid-Shu! How cuuuuute! There had to be one! She _had_ to find him. She a _bsolutely had to._ Giggling slightly, she scanned the remaining statues, even going as far as to hum to herself while doing it.

"Well, someone is suddenly in high spirits." Harune noted with a smile as she watched Inori practically dance around the sculptures, looking for something.

"You don't understand, Harune. There might be more statues of children around." The queen told her excitedly.

"Yeah, so?"

"One of them might be Shu."

"Oh." She didn't seem that excited at first, until the words sunk in. Getting pumped up from one moment to the next, she replied: "Ooooooh, now I get it! Let`s do it! For science!"

Inori, now with a certain gleam in her eyes only brought both her fists up in front of her chest and shook her head with a grin. "No, Harune. For the kingdom!"

Saluting at that, Harune went right to work. "Gotcha!"

She didn't know, however, that her help hadn't been required from the very beginning. For, you see, Inori, having gotten quite excited by her own genius idea, did not intend for them to rely on pure chance in order to find a likeness of an early Shu. No, the pinkette would spare no resources in her search for adorableness. In other words, she would cheat.

Accessing Mana's memories directly, she didn't have to look long until her hopes were confirmed. A statue befitting the queen's wishes really did exist. And what's even better: That confirmation also came with the object's concrete location.

So, while the brunette handmaiden was busy scanning the maze of sculptures randomly, Inori was instead seen maneuvering the scene systematically and with utmost precision. She was a laser-guided missile locked on her target and moving in for the kill. In the end, it came to no big surprise that she would find what she had been looking for after less than just a minute of searching. What made things even better was that Shu's childhood depiction came with two bonuses as well. Mana's and Gai's young selves were standing next to him.

It was a rather big monument, placed in the center of the room, glowing slightly from within and creating an aura of elegance all around it. No other replica of Mana's past stood in its direct surroundings, thus already telling stories of the huge importance this piece of art must have had to its creator. The sculptures showed Shu in his earlier days, small, youthful, innocent and pure. His eyes so clear and strong that they naturally drew in the viewer's attention. Inori's most of all, for there was a difference to the current Shu she knew or even the one she had gotten the pleasure of meeting all those years ago. Yes, there was no doubt that her beloved Adam's eyes were still strong and unbelievably beautiful, but something else had found its way into them as well. Something the child version had lacked. Something she knew was visible in her very own eyes as well.

Guilt.

The burden of leadership. The stress of being the center of everything going on around you. The responsibility of having hundreds of lives resting in your hands. The constant struggle against one's own insecurities over their own actions…

The price of wearing a crown was not one to be taken lightly. It took its toll on everyone foolish enough to agree on bearing it, willingly or not. Every king or queen knew that. She did, Shu did, Mana had and she was sure that even Yuu did as well.

These kids, however, had been free of that. At least at the specific moment in time this creation was based on. It hadn't just been limited to Shu, either. Upon closer inspection, even Mana and Gai had truly been free of guilt as well. That realization brought a smile to her eyes as she calmly put both her hands behind her back, slowly approaching the monument in silence as she gazed at it as if it had taken away all the words her mind could have possibly thought of. She seemed to be truly awestruck.

Shu and Gai appeared to be not much older than maybe 6 or 7 with Mana having been slightly older. Perhaps 10 or slightly above that. The brunette kid wore a red tricot with yellow stripes near his sleeves and a big 2 on its front, accompanied by brown shorts and sandals. He was holding up a tree branch in his right hand with a huge grin on his face, posing as an adventure ready to head out on his journey for glory. In his left hand, he dragged after him a meek looking Gai in a white shirt and dark trousers. The blond boy seemed flustered by Shu's pushy attitude but Inori thought there was no indication that he had really opposed the notion of it. If anything, there might have been a bit of admiration mixed into that confused and nervous look of his. Something she knew all too well from the way the kids back home would sometimes look up at her. It was almost the same. Mana was just happily trailing behind them, hands put together behind her back and smiling at the boys, probably even humming an upbeat tune to herself as she looked after them so that they wouldn't accidentally hurt themselves.

Inori caught herself staring at Mana for a long time for reasons she couldn't really understand herself. She kept looking for signs of all the menace and maliciousness she had known the woman for after having been forced to fight her for years, yet was almost shocked when she couldn't find any trace of it. Could Mana actually have been a normal being at one point? Something that wouldn't violently lash out at you on sight, furiously accusing you of being a monstrosity and trying to cut you down with a bloodthirsty battle cry in the process?

She had to shake her head at the mere contradiction. The image her own memories of Mana provided her with and the image Mana had manifested from her own memories in this statue in front of Inori were creating a paradox. How could these two entities be the same person she had come to know as Mana?

A sad thought crossed her mind.

"Was it me…?" She thought out aloud. "Has my birth corrupted you to this extend? Would you have been happier, had I never come to life?"

…

Silence, naturally.

Inori couldn't help but wonder still. If she really had never come to be, would Mana perhaps have been allowed to be happy? Could Shu perhaps have fallen in love with her instead? Would he have been happy with that? Maybe that could have led to Mana becoming the queen the Genesis truly deserved? A kind and loving leader who wasn't absorbed in her paranoia and jealousy?

…Had Inori been in the way of all that? Could it be? She looked down in sadness.

"So many people keep saying that I shouldn't exist. That I had been an accident. Even so, I am happy I came to be, under whichever circumstances that might have been the case. I got to meet Shu and the others. I got to make many beautiful memories and got to experience so many different feelings. If it really was on the expense of your happiness, then I am really sorry, Mana, but I won't regret it." This was the moment she lifted her gaze up to look at the depiction of the young Mana in front of her with determination.

" If given the choice, I would choose life over death every single time. Because, even though I may hate this world, I still love Shu and my friends. To me, they are worth all the hardships this rotten world could possibly throw at me. That's why…even if it may be selfish…" She closed her eyes and made a short pause before continuing. "I want to live. Together with everyone."

What she didn't say, though, and that was the part that made her feel bad about herself, was that, if it really came down to it, she would destroy a thousand people's happiness to protect that wish of hers.

Once she realized that, she couldn't help but frown at herself in disappointment and disgust. Da'ath would be so fucking proud, wouldn't they…? Their little Eve was maturing perfectly into her role of apocalypse maiden. Bah! It wasn't as if she was doing that for _them_ , but they would be the one's profiting still. It was so damn unfair.

"Inori!" Harune suddenly called out to her from a couple meters away, causing her to turn around to her. Thankfully, it freed her from her dark thoughts as well. Well, turns out the envoy's words had held truth about this girl's usefulness after all. At the very least, she was good at distracting her whenever it was needed, whether the brunette in question actually intended to or not.

"Ah, Harune. Don't worry about the child-statues. I already found them. They are over here if you want to see them." The pinkette kindly informed the brunette as she pointed towards the monument before her.

"That's nice, but you should probably check out the one I found as well." She replied to her with a sense of urgency, causing the queen to tilt her head ever so slightly in wonder.

"Why is that?"

"Well, because…I found you."

"Me…?" Inori couldn't quite hide her surprise regarding her handmaiden's words, slowly realizing that her feet had already begun taking her to Harune. Why in all worlds would Mana ever create a statue of her? It didn't make any sense.

"Did she want to have a dummy to use for target practice or something…?" She thought out aloud as she scratched her head, clearly clueless as to what Mana's reasoning could really have been. As she eventually came to stand in front of the statue, the queen's jaw nearly hit the floor.

She had expected many things upon hearing Harune's words. An ugly caricature to mock her, perhaps a statue showing her in a dumb pose or making silly faces. Something to make fun of at best. But when she instead found a perfectly realistic replica of herself standing in front of her, not to mention next to one of Shu of all people, Inori actually had to blink a few times to check whether or not she wasn't just seeing things that couldn't possibly be there.

And yet there it was, a giant depiction of herself standing strong with her two crystal blades in hand, looking away into the distance with a serious look, appearing to be yelling something while holding out her right hand into the direction she was facing. Shu was directly next to her, facing the other direction with Inori's void in his right hand while putting his other one on his queen's shoulder protectively. His eyes were scanning the area in front of him vigilantly. His posture suggested he was looking out for threats that could come for them. The way he held the singer's sword near himself and Inori made her believe he was trying to protect them while she was giving orders to their troops around them.

Inori was sure. This statue showed them in the midst of a battlefield. An odd choice, yet likely the only scenario in which Mana had ever seen both of them together in the first place. Mana's options regarding possible subjects of them might have been drastically limited. Or so it seemed at least.

"…Why…is this here…?" Harune eventually heard her queen mutter confusedly as she approached the structure hesitantly. This didn't make any sense to her whatsoever. Well, there was only one way to find out. Surely Mana must have added a comment or two regarding this work as well, right? Bracing herself for harsh words, Inori's hand eventually made contact with the monument's surface.

"… _.Okay, I will admit, I have struggled with myself for a long time whether or not I should actually create something like this, but the fact that I was running out of subjects for statues and getting tired of constantly rebuilding Triton for the millionth time eventually led me to give this one a shot."_ Mana's tired and slightly annoyed voice began its explanation inside Inori's head. A deep sigh followed, being accompanied by a long pause. Inori had just begun asking herself if Mana had decided to break off the recording at that point when it suddenly continued as if Mana was actually forcing herself to talk.

" _That's Yuzuriha Inori, my former intended vessel, together with Ouma Shu, my brother who also is_ _ **supposed**_ _to be my Adam, but would rather spend his time courting an empty shell of-"_ Her voice grew more and more furious before it eventually broke off. Another sigh later, her voice had returned to its normal state. More or less.

" _No, nevermind. This isn't supposed to be about that…this was actually more of a challenge for myself, to be honest. Whether or not I could manage to look past my feelings for this woman and actually capture her appearance in a statue as it really is, rather than how I actually view her. I won't be lying here, forcing myself to remain objectively was the hardest goal I have ever set for myself, but I will have to admit that sculpting her was quite a lot of fun as a result. Once I finally managed to put all my hatred for this girl aside, I actually begun seeing her with the eye of an artist and could form her in a way that would make her true appearance justice."_ She gulped down an annoyed groan before continuing. _"Artistically speaking, she was a great subject and a welcome change from all the Triton failures I am making all the time. I hate to admit it, but she is really beautiful and I might start to understand why Shu would be ensnared by her. Anatomically she is flawless and although she lacks any form of elegance or tact during conversations or other social events, when it comes down to battle, she becomes a true dancer, radiating with elegance and beauty. Her moves are fluent like water and her eyes become strangely expressive as she appears to be changing into a totally different being. I found myself just observing her during her fights for longer periods of time, often asking myself if she even still was the same person I knew. I admired her for it, and I hated her for it. Whenever she fought, I lost all confidence in my own skills. I knew I could hold my ground against her, but I would never be able to fight as beautifully as she could. It was the only thing she would always be better in than me. For a mere fake to ever be better in something than the original. It was simply unforgivable."_

Inori frowned at that part. What was so bad about being better at something? Mana had been better in almost all other disciplines, from crystal creation to actual politics which were still greatly beyond Inori even now, for the most part. She couldn't understand Mana at all.

" _The statue of Shu used to be its own, separate creation, but upon its completion, I noticed that it felt empty as if it was missing something still. Inori's monument gave off a similar impression. I kept thinking for days what I could have done wrong until I eventually realized that I have never seen those two fight alone. No matter whether it was Inori or Shu, they would always be accompanied by allies. And so I realized that if I were to ever create a realistic replica of them, I had to partner them up with someone. I continued to place dozens of random people next to them, but in the end…_ _ **this**_ _was the only acceptable solution."_ Her voice was about to drift off into a rant again before she managed to eventually collect herself again.

" _The artistic part of me is happy with my work…my heart, however, wishes for nothing more but to smash this thing into pieces so that I wouldn't have to look at it any more. It pains me to admit that they both look the best when placed next to each other. And since I have tried many possible alternatives, including myself, this outcome gets even more infuriating…I don't know what exactly it is these two share with each other but it is…irreplaceable."_

She got quiet all of a sudden, as if suddenly having realized something. Then her voice became really faint and sad, uncharacteristically so for Mana.

" _I do not compare to her at all. Shu….will never love me, will he…?"_

Silence befell Inori for a while before Mana's furious cry filled her senses, followed by the sound of crystal hitting crystal and Mana panting heavily in anguish.

" _I am all alone in this world…"_

Inori waited for a while longer, but that was it. Nothing else followed this sad realization which Mana had uttered weakly in defeat. Looking slightly to her side, Inori even spotted a small crater in the floor to her right. This must have been where Mana must have hit the floor out of frustration before eventually coming to her sad conclusion. This eventually got the better of Inori's curiosity and the pinkette began scanning Mana's memories for what must have happened afterwards.

She was soon to learn that after that, Mana had gone down to the school garden, spending countless hours questioning her past actions and the futility of them. Her depressing thoughts would only strengthen the loneliness she already felt in her heart which had already been severe due to Shu's harsh rejection in the void realm. Eventually she would call Gai to her side, unable to bear the loneliness any longer and it would appear that he had been able to confess and save Mana from her darkness she had shrouded herself in.

Gai became Adam that night, which meant this statue in front of Inori had been the last creation Mana had left the world before eventually perishing. Inori didn't know how it made her feel, seeing as to how it was a likeness of herself. Everything always appears to be starting and ending with her and she couldn't tell whether or not it was a good thing. Well, Mana most certainly hadn't appreciated that…

For all it was worth, Inori did really feel bad for her predecessor. Now that she knew how important Adam really was to Eve, how having his acceptance could change so much in Eve's life, she could actually relate to Mana's obsession with making Shu finally embrace her. Instead, she had been met with scorn and denial, filling her heart with his heavy feelings of rejection and anger where there should have been happiness and love. The Adam that had been meant to give her the wings to reach heaven had only ended up dragging her down into hell instead. It hadn't really been Shu's fault for doing that, but he eventually had ended up causing Mana as much pain as he thought she had caused him over the years. Neither of them had really hated the other in the beginning, but somehow they had ended up harming each other until it eventually came to such an outcome.

Such tragic siblings.

Part of Inori felt guilty for having that which Mana had so desperately wanted for all her life. Maybe if she hadn't existed, Mana could have gotten it instead.

But she hadn't. Shu had chosen Inori. And just thinking about that already made her so very glad. She knew how Mana had been plagued by the curse of Eve. Shu's love had spared her from experiencing the same fate. For this, she was utterly grateful to him.

It was scary, really. The apocalypse may have revolved all around Eve, yet it was Adam who really decided whether Eve's story was to be a happy one or a sad one to be told.

Well, not that Inori's was looking all that peachy right now, either…

But it would get better eventually. That she was absolutely sure of.

"Mana sure had some nice things up here. I am glad I came to look." Inori eventually caught Harune mutter to herself as she walked around and took a look at a few more statues. "Never would have taken her for an artist."

"…me neither…" Inori had to agree sadly. "Her works give plenty of food for thought."

"Is that so…? Why not sit down on that throne of yours and collect your thoughts? I will be here if you need me." Her handmaiden offered her with a polite smile while gesturing at their surroundings, implying that she would be taking a stroll around the maze of sculptures. Perhaps she might have hoped to find a few additional ones of people she actually knew. Like the envoy, or Shu, for example.

"That…might not be that bad of an idea." The queen had to admit with a small nod, slowly turning towards the enormous throne in the room. It might not be comfy, but the seat was pretty far up and thus away from everything down there. Not getting distracted by any more statues or Harune might allow her to take a breather and calm down the whirlwind of thoughts ravaging her head at the moment. Her existence, Mana's existence, Shu's existence,…everything seemed to be so goddamn important these days. She could still remember when she had thought she had just been this weird terrorist girl Gai had taken under his wing. Life had been so simple back then. Sleep, eat onigiri, go on missions for Gai, sing…

Boy, she missed singing.

She wondered if she would ever get to do that again. Do queens ever have time for hobbies these days?

She frowned. They better do!

As she approached the gigantic crystal throne, she quickly realized that it was even bigger from up close than it had appeared to be from afar. She would guess its height to be of about 40 or 50 meters, making it physically impossible to actually reach the seat normally. However, just as she was about to create a crystal to lift her up there, she noticed that small pieces of crystal were gathering in front of her feet to create what appeared to be a levitating stepping stone. Lifting a brow at that, she decided to test it out by putting her right foot on it. Despite its small size, it held her weight without problems, not even losing the slightest bit of altitude. Instead, as soon as her foot made contact with the crystal, a new stepping stone appeared right behind it, this time slightly higher. At that point, it had become quite obvious to the queen that this had been supposed to be the stairway to climb the throne. Taking it for what it was, she thus began ascending the stairway one step at a time until she eventually managed to end her journey after about 30 stairs, finally allowing her to take a seat at last.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she was about to criticize Mana's extravagancy in creating this monstrosity of a throne, but she never actually got to it. For just as she had put her hands on the crystal armrests, a sudden surge of power was felt going through her and her eyes flashed up red for a brief second. She giggled as the unexpected tingling sensation had ended up tickling her ever so slightly. However, it had overcome her just as fast as it had vanished and so the queen found herself puzzled as to its origin. For just a moment, it had felt as if she had been able to feel the fortress in its entirety, just as she normally would as Eve if it hadn't been for Mana's crystals locking her out. Every floor, every tower and all of that pulsing power that seemed to travel in between them. She had felt it all. But only for just that second before it had left her already, leaving her with that unpleasant emptiness yet again.

Sighing in frustration, she threw herself back and leaned against the throne rather casually.

"You are quite horrible for doing this to me, Mana…" She mumbled to herself with a bit of annoyance added into her voice The same annoyance seemed to be directed right back at her shortly after..

_Like you are one to talk. I told you not to come here._

Huh? That voice again? But it sounded so different now, almost like…

Before her thoughts could go any further, Inori noticed how her vision was slowly getting obstructed by white blobs. As she was trying to rub her eyes to clear them, she realized that they wouldn't go away regardless. Shocked about that, she didn't even have time to cry out in surprise as a blinding light started to take away her sight, forcing her to lift her arms in order to shield her eyes. When she finally was able to lower them again after some while, she noticed that she no longer sat on Mana's throne, nor was she still in the throne room to begin with.

Instead, she found herself to be at a new location. One she had never seen before. It was still a crystal building, yet so different. For starters, there were no walls at all. The ceiling was held in place by countless round pillars placed around the edge of the round platform, right in front of a small and neat fence that prevented you from carelessly falling off. Beyond that, Inori couldn't really see all that much because a storm was raging outside, sending several strong wind currents her way from time to time. The rain was actually so strong, you could only see a few meters outside before everything merely became a blurry mess, being only illuminated by thunder flashes from time to time. The clouds must have been thick enough to obstruct the sky completely, for there was no light to be seen anywhere. No sun, no stars. Only the crystal platform was lit due to the crystals giving off a faint sheen.

"What is this place…?" Inori couldn't help but mutter in a mixture of astonishment and confusion. This had never happened to her before. Or rather, things like this hadn't exactly happened to her since…

Inori was suddenly embraced by darkness as two hands found their way to her face, covering her eyes. A girlish, yet ominous giggle followed that action, the voice as familiar to Inori as it was horrifying. The stranger's hands had been warm, yet Inori felt all her blood leaving her face as a cold chill traveled down her spine.

"Guess who." Was all the woman said to her.

Out of sheer reflex alone, Inori smacked those hands away and turned around with an expression equally as determined as she felt scared right now. A crystal blade appeared in her hand which she held readily to her side, prepared for combat.

But where she would normally have lunged forward to attack, she found herself unable to move at all. Her hands started shaking as her legs began feeling like they were made out of goo. With a heart beating strongly in her chest, she realized with wide open eyes that fear had managed to take the better of her, paralyzing her in the process. All because of that person standing in front of her.

Mana.

"Tch, that really hurt. You are such a bad girl, you know?" Was all she said in response to Inori's sudden action. All while smirking evilly, not really seeming to mind one way or the other. Her eyes were obstructed by her long hair, making her appearance all the more ominous.

"I must be dreaming…" Inori mumbled disbelievingly, shaking her head slowly in denial. "This can't be real."

"Oh, but it is." Her nemesis took a step into her direction slowly, causing Inori to respond by taking one back from her as well. "Did you really think you would be able to ever get rid of me? I _own_ you,Inori. And I won't rest until everything you _think_ belongs to you finds its way back into my hands where they _belong_." She explained to her, all while coming closer still.

"Stay where you are! I am warning you!"

"Or what? Will you kill me again with that blade of yours? You think that will work? Come on. Why don't you just give up? I'll be gentle, I promise." With a scary chuckle, Mana reached out towards Inori, causing her to close her eyes in horror. This couldn't be happening!

"Kidding!"

That's when she felt a sudden pain coming from her forehead, followed by Mana's ringing laughter filling the entire area. Inori opened her eyes in surprise, but not due to the pain she had felt in her forehead from Mana having flicked it, but the sound of her voice which had suddenly lost all malice and danger. Rather than that, it was just genuine laughter, filled with glee. Happiness even. This was surreal. Mana couldn't produce such noises. So this _was_ a dram after all.

"Ah, you really fell for it, Inori. Should have seen your face!" The former Eve said amidst laughing fits while pointing at her rival's face in mockery with her right hand and wiping away a tear from her eye with the other. Something she was undoubtedly producing due to laughing way too damn hard. It would have started annoying Inori at this point, hadn't she still been somewhat under shock.

The storm had stopped in the meantime for some weird reason. Their surroundings remained dark, but at least the wind and thunder were gone for now.

"Hey, you okay there? I know I was kind of pushing it, but surely you couldn't have been _that_ scared, right?" Mana then asked after noticing how Inori just kept staring at her blankly, only ever blinking at her from time to time to show her she was actually still alive and hadn't spontaneously been frozen solid. Mana then seemed to realize how gloomy their surroundings looked and offered Inori a smile.

"Maybe that will help you calm down?" Pointing her hand at the darkness outside, she soon after began moving it horizontally to her right where, following her hand's movements, the darkness gradually vanished and got replaced by a sunny beach with the ocean slowly letting its waves crash against it. The sound of seagulls was carried by the gentle wind that now hit both girls peacefully and the sun shone brightly, leaving no room for the previous darkness to linger around any longer.

With the whole area now lit, the crystal building was revealed to be a huge pavilion with beautiful ornaments decorating all structures it consisted of. The pillars had beautiful carvings on them and the small fence surrounding the pavilion was elegantly and artistically formed as well. A small stairway led down to the beach, allowing visitors to take a stroll on it, while on the opposite side, a roofed walkway connected the pavilion with an even greater crystal construction in the distance. A mansion of some sorts.

This, however, didn't seem to change Inori's state in the slightest, as Mana eventually was forced to realize. The current Eve was seen looking at her surroundings briefly, but her eyes were quick to return to Mana where they remained to be vigilant, careful. Her stance was still defensive like a lone wolf facing off against a feral grizzly bear.

"Damn, you are still shaking. That bad, huh? I never knew I was this terrifying." Mana bit down on her lip and tried putting a hand on Inori's shoulder. Maybe to calm her down or something. It didn't matter, though, since Inori was quick to slap it away before it could even remotely touch her thus finally breaking her stasis.

"Don't touch me!"

"Geez, relax. I won't do anything bad, I promise."

"Riiiight." Inori responded to her with a voice drenched in suspicion. "I guess I will believe that, since it is coming from _you_." She turned around on her heels and began marching off into the opposite direction, shaking her head in absolute denial.

"I can't believe I would dream of you of all people. That's what I get for looking at all of those damn statues and listening to your voice. I guess I must have fallen asleep on that throne or something…"

Her hasty retreat, however, was interrupted by Mana suddenly jumping in her way. Well, "jumping" wasn't really the right word for it. It was more like gently floating, as she slowly and elegantly descended from slightly above Inori to make her halt in her tracks. Her hair and white dress kept defying gravity in a way that would make you believe she was actually weightless or submerged under water, yet when Inori tried moving her own clothes, no such abnormalities could be noticed. How odd. Still, it made Mana appear somewhat majestic, beautiful. But Inori wouldn't let such petty things fool her. She knew the devil when it appeared in front of her, even when she tried mimicking an angel.

"But you aren't dreaming. Well, you sort of are, but it's different. Your body is currently in some sort of trance while your consciousness got pulled to this place." Mana tried to explain to her calmly, placing both her hands behind her back casually. Inori could only narrow her eyes at that.

"This is utterly ridiculous. You must think I am stupid or something to believe such a story. This whole place can't be real." She pointed her finger at Mana angrily. " _You_ can't be here. You are…"

"Dead. I am aware." Mana grumbled in annoyance as she folded her arms in front of her chest, looked away and sighed in frustration. "It might go against popular belief but I wasn't stupid, you know? I can put one and one together." She rolled her eyes at Inori as she began counting her arguments with the help of her fingers.

"The fact that everybody is calling you Eve, the shrine for me in your and Shu's room, the fact that you are now able to chose an Adam for yourself, the absence of my own void, seeing Nanba walking around there freely instead of being dead…it's really obvious. Whatever happened to me after he killed Triton, I must have died shortly after. Or else _he_ would be the one pushing up daisies now instead of me."

"Wait…" Inori had to interrupt her with furrowed brows. "You don't remember what happened?"

"Nope. The last thing I know is that I had to see that smug bastard beating my Adam to death. Then everything just went dark. I believe I still felt my anger rising up inside me, but the next time I opened my eyes, I was actually in here, watching the world through your eyes." A mischievous smirk found its way on her face as she looked away and massaged the back of her neck awkwardly. "Aaaaaand the first thing I had to witness was, of course, you and Shu getting it on. Serves me right, yeah? But oh well, I won't complain. It was kinda hot." She shrugged at the last bit, smiling sheepishly before narrowing her eyes at Inori again, smirking. "Such a naughty girl you can be. Well, at least I now know I wasn't rejected by Shu due to _that_ side of me, at least. Oh, speaking of which, that blowjob thing you initially struggled with? I helped you out with that. No need to thank me."

"Uh…what?" Naturally, Inori was confused about Mana's words. This whole situation was way more than she could really handle right now.

"You know. You didn't know how to do it, so I helped you out by lending you my memories in order for you to actually get an idea. But seriously, I can understand inexperience, but to not even know what it was…? Didn't know there still were girls like that around…" Mana mumbled the last part while scratching her cheek and looking away sideways.

This only caused Inori to look at her with even more suspicion than before which was clearly evident by her narrowed eyes. It was true that Inori had thought the idea had popped up in her head rather suddenly and back then she had assumed it had merely been her intuition. But now that she thought about it, having Mana giving her pointers was way more likely than her figuring it out by mere chance herself. It had been way too convenient an epiphany to have for that to having been the case, but still. That didn't solve the more pressing question Inori had:

"Why did you do that?"

"Why…?" Mana chuckled slightly at the question. "Well, I doubt Shu is kinky enough to appreciate you accidentally using teeth on him, which I am almost sure would have happened without my intervention." She shrugged at that. "You two were on a roll there, so I thought I would spare you two the awkward moment. Plus, the atmosphere was really hot and I'll admit, I got kinda into it, so I naturally didn't want it to stop there." She admitted with a big, sheepish grin, followed by scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Gee, I feel like such a soccer mom, cheering you guys on and all."

"Liar." Inori accused her sharply. "All my life you spent your time getting in our way, and now you claim to support us? You won't fool me!" She declared to Mana defiantly.

"Yeah, it's true." Mana admitted with a tired sigh. "I hated you with a passion. To be honest, part of me still keeps screaming at me for even having this conversation with you instead of tormenting you like I always did. But it's somewhat different now. I still remember why I hated you and I can still understand why I did so, but ever since I woke up here, I cannot help but ask myself why I should even still bother…it's weird, but it's like, for the first time in years, I was finally able to think this through rationally again instead of being blinded by my fear of losing everything I cared about. I used to view you as a monster. A demon summoned by Da'ath to take everything from me that was to be mine by right. It's only now that I have accepted death that I can see that you are just a normal girl, trying to live with the same burden I had previously shouldered as well. You just want to be with your Adam and be happy. Like I did. And while I am still holding a grudge against you for actually taking Shu from me, I have realized that it hadn't really been your fault at all. It's not like you walked up to him, flashed him your panties and shook your tits around just to take him away from me. You didn't even know what love or passion were back when you first met him. I was forced to admit that it hadn't all been a calculated ploy to sabotage me, but rather…it was all just coincidence." She told Inori with a groan as she put both hands on her hips angrily.

"If I hadn't appealed to Shu that early, I wouldn't have caused Lost Christmas. If I hadn't caused Lost Christmas, you would not have come to be. If you hadn't come to be, Shu would not have fallen for you. And even after it all had happened, if I hadn't been so focused on Shu all the time, I would have been able to notice Triton's feelings for me earlier. I could have made him Adam and avoided all the misery I had faced over the years. Our war in the void realm could have been avoided and we could have joined forces to defeat Da'ath together. In the end, it really was more my fault than anyone else's. I was too stubborn and blind to accept it. I feel like deep down I always knew, but admitting my fault would have meant admitting that I had wasted all these years for nothing. Nearly all my life at that point. It was too bitter a pill to swallow. So I kept taking the easy way out until there no longer was any easy way to take and I was forced to eventually accept what I should have accepted years ago."

Mana paused for a second, closing her eyes forcefully in what seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and shame, before opening them again in the end, albeit avoiding Inori's gaze regardless.

"I am really bad at this and I don't think I am physically able to say the following words more than once, so please listen well to what I am about to say:" She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in her obvious struggle to continue talking. Eventually her eyes met Inori's once more, basically spitting out the following words at that point:

"I was in the wrong about everything I have ever done after we two met. I shouldn't have used you as a vessel. I shouldn't have gotten in your and Shu's way and I shouldn't have waged war against you. I was lost and bitter about my fate as Eve and I made you pay for it. I am sorry about everything, Inori. It was my fault."

Albeit Mana's posture and voice had made it sound as if she pretty much had forced herself to say these words, her eyes managed to convey that she had spoken nothing but the honest truth regardless, even when it was so uncomfortable for her. Seeing this, Inori was actually at a loss for words. Had…had Mana just apologized to her? The same woman she had known for years? The one who would have rather started a battle than ever admitting being in the wrong about something?

…was she sure she wasn't merely dreaming all of this? This couldn't be happening. It was too good to be true. A Da'ath trick, maybe?

"This…isn't a trick, right? You are…really meaning it?"

"…Say about me what you want, but I wasn't a liar. I take offense in people calling me that…" Her ex-nemesis replied with folded arms, still looking away. She appeared to be highly uncomfortable with the whole situation, which didn't come as a huge surprise. Mana had always been a prideful woman. To apologize, however, one was required to step over one's own pride. With the amount of pride Mana must have had, Inori couldn't possible fathom how hard it must have been for her to actually muster those words. Before she knew it, her vision became blurry from all the tears gathering there. Something Mana eventually caught a glimpse of from the corner of her eyes. Suddenly panicking, she asked:

"H-hey, come on. I did it the best way I could. No need to cry about it. I won't rephrase it for you, you know?"

"There is no need to. This is everything I ever wanted to hear from you." The current Eve admitted truthfully in between sobs as she finally let her tears flow. "I am so happy."

Mana's brows trembled in anger over that statement. "Me begging for forgiveness made you that happy…?" How much had she wished for her humiliation for her to cry all these crocodile tears now that she had finally gotten what she had always wanted to hear?

To the ex-Eve's surprise, though, Inori was just seen shaking her head slowly, while wiping away her tears.

"No, us two finally getting along."

"Eh…?" Now it was actually Mana's turn to be at a loss for words instead, looking at Inori with wide open eyes and mouth gaping apart. Raising a finger slowly to point at herself, she eventually asked. "You wanted us to get along? Didn't you hate me as well?"

Again, Inori just slowly shook her head at the question, still wiping off her tears. "I was afraid of you. And angry with you, too. But it wasn't hate I felt. Not really."

Mana, however, would have none of that. Now yelling at Inori disbelievingly, she said: "I tormented you! I tried to kill you! I killed so many of your followers! How can you not hate me?"

"You are right. I was really angry with you for that." The current queen told her with narrowed eyes before looking down in sadness. "But at the same time, I understood why you hated me so much. I think, if someone appeared out of the blue and tried to take Shu away from me the same way I did for you, I might have become resentful as well. I may have expressed it differently than you, but I am sure I would have become a terrible person as well." She put both her hands on each of her upper arms as if trying to hug herself in an attempt to console herself over the horrible thoughts going through her head at the moment. Her eyes appeared to become empty as she talked, as if reflecting the darkness hiding deep within her.

"There is a horrible, horrible darkness lurking inside me. When we were still stuck in the same body, I used to think it was you, but it remained to be there even when you were gone. I have hardly ever noticed it before, but lately I can tell that it's there. And I feel the only thing keeping it locked up inside me is actually Shu. I am afraid of what I would become if I were to ever lose him and it were to break free as a result."

"We are more alike than I would have previously thought, then…" Mana told her with a sad smile."I know that darkness you speak of very well. I didn't have a Shu to help me hold it in, so it broke free and made me do all the things I eventually did. But don't feel bad, Inori. Every person has that darkness lurking inside them. You just didn't know from the start because you had to learn what human emotions are. Everyone houses those demons and everyone struggles to keep them in check. Some succeed, some don't. And the more power someone holds, the more dangerous they become once their control slips away."

Inori gulped as she thought back to the Mana that had just lost her Adam. The horrible crystal beast she had become as a result, hell-bent on ending every existence crossing her path, including her very own one. The absolute embodiment of despair. If this was what Inori's darkness would transform her into, it could never be allowed to manifest outside of her heart. It absolutely couldn't!

"There, there. No need to be afraid." Mana's words suddenly brought her back from her heavy thoughts. Inori blinked at her in surprise once she noticed her patting her head gently. Unsure how to feel about that, she stepped back in confusion.

"H-huh?"

"Well, it appears I am kind of stuck inside you for the time being, so I suppose I could help you with that darkness of yours, should it ever become a problem." Mana told her with a carefree shrug.

"You would…help me…?"

"Yeah, although I suppose you could say I am expecting this to be more of a partnership than free service. For starters, I really want to know why I am here in the first place."

"And how would I know that?"

"If you don't know, who else would? You had to be the one who killed me, right?"

That's when Inori furrowed her brows at her in annoyance.

"Kill you? That was the last thing I had in mind when I last saw you. We wanted to capture you alive. It was the envoy who killed you."

"Yuu did…?" Mana asked her in surprise, followed by biting down on her right thumb's nail. "I know he was the one to poison me, but to actually kill me as well. I didn't think he would actually have it in him." But that's when she dismissed the matter with a shake of the head and went back to the main problem.

"Well, anyway, I must have ended up in here when you took the queen's crown from me. This would imply that it is an Eve thing that brought me here. Since you currently hold that thing, why don't you check it for any form of knowledge regarding my situation."

"You were Eve before me, shouldn't you know everything about it already?"

This caused Mana to smile at her casually. "Oh, you know how it is with these instruction manuals…you never read them unless you find yourself to be stuck. In my case, I am quite literally stuck. Inside you. And while I don't particularly mind that, I would still like to know why."

Inori sighed at that display of pure negligence. Weren't your predecessors supposed to be shining examples on how to do it right? Not that Inori was any better in that regard, of course, so she probably had no right to criticize Mana in that regard. Closing her eyes for a second, she began looking through the vast knowledge the queen's crown had provided her with until after a few moments, she eventually opened them up again, looking somewhat tired. Mana had to suppress her laughter when she realized her successor looked like those unfortunate kids in school which had been forced to spend all day inside the library against their will.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Inori just waved her off with a tired sigh. "If I understand this correctly, this place is the pantheon of queens, a subsection of the queen's crown which every Eve inherits. All Eves of the past gather here to offer guidance to the current Eve, should she need it. It's the part of the queen's crown which holds the legacy of every Eve that has been and is to come."

"My legacy, huh." Mana repeated with a pained smile. "It's true that I wished to leave something behind in this world, but I never thought it would be like this." She gestured towards their surroundings listlessly and shrugged. "I guess the Eve curse really is absolute. No Eve ever truly dies, eh? Not even when she isn't even Eve anymore." Her voice sounded somewhat defeated when she had said that, looking away in the distance.

Inori frowned at that. "It's not even part of the curse. The curse can be dispelled when you bring the apocalypse, but the pantheon remains to be around even after that."

"So I am stuck in here forever then." Mana realized with folded arms.

"You are taking it better than I expected."

The ex-Eve opened up her eyes wide in surprise as she blinked at her successor. "Huh? Why? It isn't that bad a place to be stuck in. As sad as it may sound, I am actually happier in here than I ever was in all my life. There is this air of tranquility around here that just makes me feel at peace. And all my paranoia is gone, too. I even got over myself and told you I was sorry. Feels great to finally have gotten this off my chest. It's just…" She sighed. "It's somewhat lonely in here."

Lonely, huh. Inori looked around at the beautiful scenery and marvelous architectural buildings at this place, but was quick to realize that it also felt empty. There was a lot of room in here, yet all that space only amplified the effect of emptiness. With no other people around than her and Mana, this place was basically nothing but a tomb. An uncomfortable thought. Even the seagulls the girls could hear in the distance have yet to actually be seen. There was nothing in this place but them.

"Gai isn't here, either." Inori suddenly realized and looked at Mana with quite some sympathy, but Mana offered her a sad smile once she had heard her words, placing both her hands over her heart.

"Well, he sort of is with me. In here. The Adam and Eve connection we shared never got severed. I have no idea where he is right now, but I am still receiving his feelings from there. We just can't see each other, which is slightly regrettable…"

"That's horrible!" Inori gasped. "Aren't you sad?"

"Not really. You know how it feels like when Shu is right next to you, holding your hand?" Inori nodded. That feeling was seriously the best. Upon direct contact, his feelings for her would just rush through her in their entirety and fill every cell in her body with that radiating warmth and pleasantness. Not to mention that electrifying sense of power that would also fill her with his touch alone. That sensation was what every Eve strived for, Inori believed. It was the only thing that really mattered. Seeing that Inori understood, Mana continued her explanation with a sheepish smile.

"I know it's hard to understand, but right now, it feels like he is standing right next to me, holding me close. I can't physically feel him, but he is still here with me. It's comforting and I feel at peace like this, but still, you can't have conversations like this, either."

Ah, now Inori began to understand what Mana actually meant. If she could constantly feel Gai in such a way, that must have meant that he was actually really close, even if she wasn't able to see him. Perhaps this meant that Gai's soul was with her, but without a body to actually possess, he couldn't really speak to her. So, in other words, she wasn't lonely due to the lack of Gai's presence, but the lack of people to actually interact with instead.

"In that case…" Inori said, suddenly feeling somewhat nervous for asking this. She looked away and rubbed her left arm awkwardly. "Maybe we could talk with each other from time to time instead?"

"Are you sure? Aren't you afraid of me?" Mana asked with a teasing smirk, causing Inori to narrow her eyes on her in disdain.

"Nevermind then."

"Eh? Come on! I was only messing with you! I would really appreciate your company! Please don't ignore me!" Mana suddenly exclaimed in a panic and grabbed Inori by her hand as she had already turned around in an attempt to leave. That's when she heard Inori suddenly laughing at her heartily, turning slightly around while forming a V with her index and middle fingers and saying:

"Kidding."

Mana, now with an eye twitching from annoyance, tried to hold back her anger with a pained smile:

"…..I guess I deserved that one…was it fun at least?"

"Yes!" Inori admitted with a giggle. "You seemed pretty desperate. It was really cute!"

"Does that make us even for my joke earlier, then?" She asked with a deep sigh.

"I suppose so." The current queen nodded in affirmation, followed by smiling in satisfaction. "This is fun."

"Seeing me beg like a peasant is fun?" Mana asked with eyes narrowed down from annoyance, but her successor only deepened her smile while shaking her head.

"Talking normally is. We never did before."

"Oh." He ex-Eve laughed nervously and with a bit of shame. "I suppose that's my fault as well. I was too proud to acknowledge you as my equal, so all we ever did was fight."

"I didn't want to fight, though."

"I know. So I think it's time we stopped." She shrugged with a defeated looking smile."Quite ironic, isn't it? All these years I was so afraid of you taking away my kingdom and brother from me. Now you have both and I am actually fine with it. I never liked being queen anyway."

Inori frowned at that. "I don't like being queen, either

"Well, though luck, now you have that title. Good riddance." Mana suddenly laughed and patted her on the back encouragingly.

"No fair!" Inori whined helplessly. "Can't I just give it back and just take Shu instead?"

"Nope." A mischievous grin accompanied Mana's simple declaration. "If you hate it so much, go and get Shu to work so you can spawn some brats and raise them to take the crown from you one day."

"Do you want to be an aunt that badly?"

This caused Mana to flinch, holding her head with both hands in despair. "Ah! I am still too young and beautiful to be an aunt."

"You say that, but do you even still age?"

"Well, if I won't then no children for you!"

"Eh? Please age!" Inori asked of Mana desperately before both of them suddenly burst out into a laughing fit.

"What are we even doing?" Inori asked after a while in between soft giggles. They had both taken a seat on crystal chairs they had each created for themselves to sit on.

"You were right. This is fun after all." Mana eventually agreed, letting out a content sigh.

"If only we could have gotten along sooner." Inori mumbled to herself in disappointment. She could have actually had a friend instead of a long time rival. Wouldn't that have been nice?

"We could have built crystal stuff together." Mana thought out aloud.

"We could have exchanged different crystal creation techniques with each other."

"I could have ditched ruling my kingdom on you and made off to make out with Triton somewhere." Mana mused with a mischievous smirk, causing Inori to narrow her eyes defiantly.

"And I would have dragged you right back to place you on that huge throne of yours while I run off with Shu instead." Mana only grinned at that, then her gaze became somewhat distant as she thought about something else with a sad smile.

"We could have had a double wedding. With lots of cake. I would have placed my best sculptures everywhere and you could have sung your songs. Triton and Shu would probably have had started a competition on who would get drunk faster, even though Genesis can't get drunk. Doing stupid things, just how when they were boys. Everyone would have been there to celebrate with us."

"And we would have been sisters…" Inori continued the thought with a sad expression, lamenting that which could have been but wasn't.

"Yeah…" Mana nodded slowly, looking down in regret as well.

"You really aren't fair at all, Mana." Her former rival accused her to be with a shaky voice, trying to hold back some tears and forcing herself to smile. "In life, you used to be so mean to me, only to become like the sister I always wanted you to be now that you are dead."

Mana could only nod at that, agreeing with her while smiling sadly as well."Yeah, I seem to get everything backwards, don't I? Would it have made you happier if I had remained the same so that you could hate me and be happy about my death?"

"Stupid Mana." Inori said as she sniffled quietly, wiping away a tear. "I would have been happier if you had been like this right from the start."

"I see. Well, what can I say...it turns out that, true to popular belief, I really was quite…" Inori noticed how her vision began fading out into white again. The last thing she saw was Mana's apologizing smile and a lone tear traveling down her cheek as she spoke.

"…stupid."

When the light finally faded again, Inori realized she was back in her original spot as if she had never even left it in the first place. Well, if Mana's words had been true, she really had never left it to begin with. She blinked a few times and noticed that her vision had become blurry due to tears having been formed there and she quickly wiped them away before anyone could see them.

"Oh, my queen. It appears you have fallen asleep for a bit after thinking too much. Were you that tired?" Harune's voice reached her from below. Looking down to her, Inori realized the brunette was waving at her with a gentle smile.

"I suppose so. How long have I been out?" The queen asked curiously, causing her handmaiden to produce some thinking noises.

"Um, not entirely sure. I just came back from exploring the room about seven or eight minutes ago. You were already unresponsive then, so you might have been out for about 15 to 20 minutes."

"I see." Well, that basically aligned itself with her own rough estimation of time spent with Mana.

"Did you have a nice rest, Inori?" Harune asked politely, causing the queen to merely lean her head on her hand as she smiled to herself.

"Well, you could say that. I had a nice dream." She closed her eyes and held back a sigh. Of course it had just been a dream. Something like that could have never even happened. It had simply been too good to be true.

_Don't worry, Hun. That was no dream. I am still here._

Inori's eyes opened wide for a second in surprise before she eventually realized what this meant and a big smile formed itself on her lips. The voice now even sounded like Mana, unlike before where it had just been her own one. It was funny to think how hearing Mana's voice would actually make her happy now where it once used to fill her entire being with dread. Times sure changed, huh. Good thing it didn't always change for the worse.

_I assume I don't need to hide my identity anymore, so I will be using my normal voice from now on. Don't worry about me distracting you during important conversations or something, though. I am fairly tactful. I know when to impose on you and when not to. Just don't ignore me, alright? If you don't want me to speak, tell me to shut up. That's far better than being ignored anyway._

Well, knowing how lonely the pantheon was, Inori could understand Mana's fear of being ignored. Inori was pretty much the only person Mana could talk to, so if she were to ignore her, she would be forced to spend an entire lifetime in loneliness. The queen wasn't sure if she could have brought herself to be this cruel to Mana even if she had actually hated her. It was a fate even too horrible for someone like Arisa to bear, whom she certainly disliked a lot more currently.

_You are too kind, Inori. You know, you can be angry with me. I am a big girl. I can handle it._

Nah. Inori wasn't a person who held grudges. Mana had apologized and it had felt genuine enough. With that, she had been forgiven.

_You are such a softie. But that's alright. It suits you and people like you for it. Maybe it is even growing on me as well._

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood all of a sudden. That's great." Harune said energetically as she took out her holo-tablet and began swiping through some of her prepared plans and documents. "If you liked coming to Mana's room so much, perhaps we should continue our tour some more? You might actually come to like it here."

Suddenly jumping off from the throne and landing next to her handmaiden, Inori merely put her right hand on her hip and offered her a grin. "I doubt it, but it would be a waste to let this opportunity go to waste. So let's see what you got for me.

"That's the spirit, your majesty! Let's see, first we should get back to the elevator. Please, follow me." Harune, looking like a kid who had just asked for and received permission to go out and play, eagerly and with a huge smile, began marching forward and leading the way while checking her tablet religiously. She seemed to have so many plans and a lot to do.

_This girl is trying way too hard._

Maybe, but trying hard wasn't a bad thing, Inori thought and giggled to herself. Her friends back home were also always trying to help her out. And very hard at that as well. At the very least, Harune seemed to take her duties as self-appointed handmaiden very seriously. And even though the queen still thought she had no particular need for her, she still kind of had to admit that she admired her enthusiasm at least.

As she began trailing after the brunette, Inori, still in high spirits, couldn't help but think that today hadn't been all that bad. Sure, she was taken to this place against her will and yeah the crystals at this place had disconnected her from the network which was really bad, but looking at it from a more positive standpoint, she still had been able to make a lot of progress today still.

For one, there was Kyoma, the clan leader she had helped with opposing Nanba and who was now hopefully going to help Shu out in the future. And secondly, of course, she had finally been able to make up with Mana after all these years. Those were some serious accomplishments for just one day. And considering how it hadn't even been over yet, perhaps Inori would manage to get herself even more advantages over Da'ath?

_Yeah, sorry about the crystals here. I kind of never thought I would eventually end up befriending you, so…_

But Inori just shook her head slowly. Nevermind that, it couldn't be helped. She would deal with that obstacle some other time. For now, it was more important to focus on what she actually could do rather than what she would like to do. Right now, she could scout the area for more weaknesses to exploit, so she would just do that. Bringing up both her hands and forming them into fists determinedly, she smiled eagerly to herself. Ready to tackle any problem that would dare cross her path head on.

And with that, Inori set out once more. Unwavering and in high spirits. She wondered whether Da'ath actually knew how screwed they basically already were. With Inori making new allies left and right, this coming war was about to be won sooner than she would have previously though. After all, there were now two Eves they had to look out for, right?

_Oh you bet, girl._ _That envoy and I still have a score to settle here._

Still, even with all that progress for Inori, she knew she couldn't afford letting her guard down. Da'ath was a scary enemy to face. She had done a lot already, but there was still a lot to do left. That realization made her frown and she couldn't help but silently wish Shu was next to her to pat her head and cheer her up, telling her that she was doing great. Sighing at that silly thought, she actually wondered how Shu was doing on the other side. Was he making progress as well? She was sure he was. It was Shu, after all. Her lovely Adam. He could do anything.

She smiled to herself. Yes. It was only a matter of time now.

Stepping on the crystal elevator next to Harune, the platform began constructing its fence before eventually commencing its descend. And as she floated down the huge tower, a single thought was on her mind:

" _Fight, Shu! And be safe!"_


	6. Man on a mission

**37\. Man on a mission**

Ah, the early evening.

Some people would claim it to be the very best part of the day. The moment you would sign out of work, get into your preferred option of vehicular transport and tell the god of unpaid overtime: "Not today!" while flipping him the bird to the beat of your favorite song.

Indeed, it was satisfying to return home after a day of hard work, knowing that you had earned your peace and freedom for the day.

In any part of a civilized country, that might have been true.

But not so in Tokyo.

The streets of the locked down capital of Japan had been mostly quiet for the past few weeks, with only a few cars driving around or a couple of SDF vehicles patrolling. Today, however, the population of Tokyo had decided that they would have none of that. There would be no peace, no backing down until the military would come clean with the public and give them answers regarding the claims of Ouma Shu they had all been listening to earlier that day.

And so, thousands of citizens had gathered at Narita airport in protest, raising signs at least as high as they had with their enraged voices. They demanded to see their loved ones, their sisters, brothers, wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and friends now that they had seen visual proof that they _could_ still be alive.

The military, on the other side, could do little but try to send them away. Soldiers had climbed on towers and used megaphones in a vain attempt to calm down the masses, to convince them to go home and wait for more information in the news.

All it did was add fuel to the fire, though.

From high above, camouflaged with the help of an infiltration cloak and airborne thanks to Ayase's void, Shu overlooked the stage he had set a couple of hours ago with folded arms. To some, he would have appeared as the mastermind of an evil ploy, rubbing his hands together with mischievous glee. To others, he might have appeared like a puppet master, letting his marionettes dance to his entertainment. Then there were those who could possibly have viewed him as a ghost. A vengeful spirit looking down on the souls it would prey upon. And then there were those who might even have thought of him as god himself overlooking his dear, yet dumb sheep.

He was neither of that, but was it of little difference to him. He would let people think of him whatever they so desired as long as they would never forget one thing:

That he was king.

And as king, he did not welcome people who would not acknowledge him. He wasn't a king that asked much of his vassals. They didn't have to like him, didn't have to bow, heck, they didn't even have to go into battle with him if they didn't want to. But when he told people to stay out of his way, he demanded that they followed that order at least.

The military refused to do as such. He had asked of them to capitulate. He had not received a capitulation. But such was hardly surprising, he mused. They were led by the stubborn old fart of a general that had previously refused to cooperate with him against Da'ath back when he had kindly _asked_ him to do so. The king narrowed down his eyes and looked down at the control tower of the airport where he assumed General Iwamoto to be.

This time, he wouldn't ask.

His gaze went back to the countless citizens of Tokyo that had answered his call to arms and had rallied up to free their beloved friends and family members.

Well, it hadn't been as much a call to arms as it had been a simple provocation. Either way, it had fulfilled the same purpose.

The king knew firsthand that uniting people under you wasn't easy. Many factors played into their willingness to follow you. People, after all, were individualists, every single one of them entirely unique in what they thought and cared about. Many leaders today tried unifying this mess of a demographic with the help of political parties. Factions over factions of different parties struggling to get the majority of the people they tried to rule behind them. And yet, it was a futile struggle for there was not a single party which could possibly bring them all together. And there never would be.

That was when Shu couldn't help but smirk knowingly as he overlooked his small army of civilians.

He had done it. He had managed to unite the entirety of Tokyo by finding the one thing everyone of them had had in common.

Lost Christmas. The first as well as the second coming of it. And not to mention the fourth apocalypse as a whole.

It didn't matter whether you were religious or an atheist, whether you were vegan or not, whether you were Asian, white, black or something in between, whether you were old or young, male or female.

Everyone had lost someone during that day or the following apocalypses. And everyone wanted their lost ones back. And so, they had all gathered up before the SDF.

To be honest, Shu was quite surprised that it had happened so soon after his speech at noon. He had originally assumed people would need time to organize a protest so he had planned to give them a day or two to do so, but then he saw the news and how more and more people were leaving their houses in order to march into the direction of Narita airport. It didn't even matter if they came from the opposite side of Tokyo and couldn't ride public transport. Somehow or another, they had managed to come here by now, merely 8 hours after his announcement.

There had been no planning. No organization. No announcements on the social media. Everyone had just decided to come here as soon as they had seen the message by themselves and steadily, the groups of individual protesters had united into the group of activists laying siege of the airport before him.

It was downright amazing, to be honest. It showed that certain things really could mold people together in a matter of seconds.

" _How does it look, Shu? Are there enough people yet?"_ He could hear Hare's curious voice resounding in his head, coming from the small crystal he held in his hand.

"More than enough. We might actually be able to go for it tonight rather than tomorrow. This is good. Very good." He told her with a pleased smile, still overlooking the situation contently.

" _The snipers are in position and await your command, my king. We can commence any time you see fit."_ Jun informed him respectfully.

"Good job. If this goes smoothly, we will be done before we even break a sweat over here." The king said as he looked over his shoulder to see a small group of his fighters hiding on the roof of the highest building around. Not all of them had been equipped with actual sniper rifles, but the ones who hadn't, had other means of sniping, such as voids that enhanced their vision or aim or guided their projectiles one way or another to ensure long-range support. He also knew that there were several such groups scattered around Narita airport. One located to the south on the roof of a multi-story parking lot, another one to the southwest on the roof of a medium sized apartment complex and one more on the roof of a huge hotel building in the north.

He hadn't bothered to post troops to the east of Narita as the gathering of civilians would have been weak anyway. There was nothing but rural provinces in that direction up to the point in which you would hit the quarantine walls, so there was nothing to be expected to come from there anyway. Luckily, the few people that had come from the east had had enough common sense to group up with people coming from the other parts of the city at least, thus making his job of protecting them easier.

The majority had gathered up to the north, where he was at. Luckily enough, the north also had the best vantage point for his snipers to cover them, so all was going well so far. The troops to the south and west were only stationed there in case of emergency anyway. He doubted they would get to do much if everything went as smoothly as he had planned it to.

" _There is one more thing, Shu. While you were preparing everything for the strike against the SDF, I was contacted by a certain individual that claims he has met the queen and has sworn allegiance to her."_ Jun continued his report.

"Hoh? Who is it?"

The brunette man could almost sense his friend frown on the other end.

" _He goes by the name of Kyoma Ichiyo, although he is also known as Kyoma the undying, or Kyoma the immortal."_

"That's quite the redundant title, given how everyone in the void realm must have been immortal to an extent, no? Unless he acquired that title recently, that is."

" _No, he got it in the void realm, alright_." Jimmy suddenly spoke to him, sounding somewhat bitter. _I've fought him before_. _He is told to have never died even once during the war, even surviving the most deadly of injuries inflicted upon him. As a result, he has a multitude of scary looking scars all over his body. He was an enemy many a soldier feared to oppose due to the rumors surrounding him and his appearance."_

"Interesting, so what does he say?" Shu wanted to know.

" _He claims to be the leader of the former Mananite clan called Retribution, which is odd, since it was supposed to be led by one of Tsutsugami Gai's lieutenants."_ Jun told him while probably checking some of his documents to confirm he wasn't feeding his king false information.

" _It might be possible that the clan hierarchy was shuffled around after Gai's death."_ Jimmy suggested thoughtfully. _"The Mananite chain of command was fickle like that. Clans were established and dissolved with leadership over them being shifted around practically all the time."_

" _That's true."_ The younger Samukawa agreed with the American. _"According to him, Redemption and Judgment have been annihilated as well, their remains scattered all around loop seven."_

"Is that information reliable?" Shu asked his advisor doubtfully.

" _Hard to say."_ The younger man admitted with a sigh. " _It's not unlikely since both clans were also led by Gai's lieutenants. Their demise during his rebellion against Da'ath could have been a logical result, but then again, we are also talking about trusting the word of a Mananite, so…"_

Shu frowned, visibly suspicious of this Kyoma individual. However, he might be a valuable informant, so disregarding him too readily might be a bad move.

"Jimmy, you said you know this Kyoma? What else can you tell me about him?"

" _He is a good and strong soldier. His void is a musket that shoots plasma at his opponents. Scary stuff. He has quite some skill with it and is able to even shoot down fast moving targets with it. I hated facing off against him, because he fights like a monster. His bravery knows no limit and is able to even affect his allies around him. Although he was an enemy that was a huge pain in the ass to deal with, I still respected him a lot as a human being. He was one of the few Mananites known to fight with honor, never resolving to cheap tricks and always fighting on equal grounds. Many thought him to be a fool for doing that, but I think he was inspiring. It's too bad he was so loyal towards Mana, or else he might have been a good addition to our troops if he had defected."_

Hm, honorable and loyal. Those were some good traits to have, Shu thought. Yet he had also been loyal to Mana, which could be a problem. His sister had been nothing but a hindrance ever since he could remember. If Kyoma shared her views on Inori, he might never become an ally. In that case, any information provided by him might just end up being a trap. Then again, according to Jimmy's description of Kyoma, he wouldn't have resolved to traps.

Urgh, how complicated. He massaged his forehead as he weighed out whether trusting that man was worth a shot or not with closed eyes.

" _For all it's worth, there was one more thing he said to me, Shu."_ Jun eventually added with some hesitation, unsure whether or not that part of his information was even worth sharing. _"He said it would help prove his credibility as a follower of Eve, but, to be honest, what he said doesn't mean much to me."_

"What was it?" Shu had to ask with a raised brow, visibly curious about what could possibly prove his loyalty towards Eve so easily.

" _He just gave me one name, my king. Hanae."_

Clearly surprised to have heard that name coming from Jun, he couldn't help but open up his eyes wide as a result.

-GC-

_Back when Inori had just awoken as Eve, after hours of vigorous physical activity, the pink haired queen finally allowed herself to collapse next to her king in a mixture of bliss as well as exhaustion._

" _Can it be? Have I at last managed to still the hunger of my gluttonous queen?" Shu allowed himself to ask jokingly with what little breath he could spare._

" _Nuuuu~, it can never be enough. But where my heart screams for more, my body keeps whining and begging for rest." She moaned tiredly into his chest, gently snuggling up to him with closed eyes. "Sleep is cruel. Why can't I just run on your love forever instead?"_

_This caused the king to burst out into laughter. "Have some mercy, please. If it came to that, I am sure you would squeeze my dry." Watching his adorable lover snuggling up to him like a kitten caused him to subconsciously stroke her silky hair as if to pet her. A smile appeared on his lips when he heard her quietly humming delightedly in response. It was almost as if she was purring for him._

" _You didn't seem to be objecting that much when I was just doing that earlier." She told him with a sweet giggle._

" _As if I would ever. Pouring my love out to you is all I have ever wanted to do." He told her as he kissed her forehead._

" _I have received so much from you tonight. Any more and I might burst. I am so happy." She sighed contently, putting her arms around him and holding him close._

" _And you are sure it's okay? You won't become pregnant?"_

_She could only smile sadly. "I won't. Because even though I wish for nothing more but to receive your child and start a family, I also know that this is not the time for it. The world is too dangerous right now."_

" _True." He agreed with her. "But I doubt biology cares about whether we think the timing was good or not." He told her jokingly._

" _It doesn't matter what biology thinks. I decide the timing. If I say there won't be a child, there won't." She declared with narrowed down eyes. It caused Shu to smile at her awkwardly._

" _I don't think it works that way, Inori."_

" _It does. I know it. Stupid Shu, doesn't even know how children are made…" She chuckled at him._

" _Wha…" Did he miss something? When did_ _ **she**_ _become the expert here? "Excuse me? When you woke up you whined about me not telling you about sex and now you are the prodigy in the matter? Are you mocking me?" He asked her with a smirk as he pinched her cheek playfully and proceeded to pull at it ever so slightly._

" _Nuuu, stahp. Don't be mean, Shu. Since you didn't teach me, the queen's crown did. I can decide whether or not I become pregnant or not. Is that not how it normally works…?" She asked him while rubbing her cheek after he had let her go_

" _Seriously?" So she wasn't messing with him? Eying her with slight bewilderment, he received nothing but genuineness from her in return. This caused him to eventually lay off her. "No, this is not how it normally works .Is that also an Eve thing?"_

_She shook her head. "No? I think it's more of a Genesis thing."_

" _Huh. Amazing. I guess it's not called evolution for nothing." Still, to be sure, he should go and ask Hare tomorrow. For now, though, Inori's word was good enough to ease his mind. He allowed his head to lean back against his pillow with Inori looking up to him from his chest._

" _Are you still worried, Shu?"_

" _These days I am always worried. I can't afford losing you again, let alone our child, if it were to come." He admitted truthfully and with a deep sigh._

" _I won't ever leave you again, Shu. Don't forget that." She tried to reassure him. It caused a weak smile to appear on his lips as he looked down at her._

" _I know." She leaned towards him and gave him a small peck on the lips to cheer him up. To her relief, the worry in his eyes slowly dissolved. She took pride in the fact that her kisses could dispel his uneasiness. It was her very own form of magic._

_He suddenly chuckled out of nowhere after a short moment of silence between them._

" _Can you imagine us two actually becoming parents one day?" He asked her amusedly._

" _Of course. Why are you asking?" There was not a speck of doubt too be heard in her voice._

_He looked at her as she was blinking at him in confusion and could do little but shrug in return._

" _It's not like I have spent much time with my Dad. Makes me wonder if I even know how to be one."_

_His queen frowned at him._

" _Shu, there is nothing to know about it. It's all about what's in there." She pointed at the spot next to her on his chest, undoubtedly referring to his heart. "There is no need to worry, since you have plenty of love in there to give. If our child received but just a tenth of the love you are giving me, it will still be more than enough. You will be perfectly fine." She told him with a gentle smile._

" _You really think so?" He couldn't help but chuckle at her optimism. "He or she might actually come to hate me, you know?"_

" _Hating you is impossible, Shu." She said with a nod, sounding as if these words had come straight from her heart._

_Jokingly, he replied: "Tell that to the rest of Japan, please. They might not have gotten the memo."_

" _Japan doesn't know anything." Was her response as she frowned, blowing up her cheeks in the process. "Country of idiots." Her cuteness alone made his heart skip a beat._

_Then she suddenly giggled. "Shu, don't suddenly increase the amount of love you send through me. It's too much." Oh, so she had noticed. There was no hiding anything from her, huh._

" _Sorry for loving you too much." He thus admitted defeat with a sheepish grin. Getting up from his chest, she slowly brought her face closer to his to plant her lips on his very own ones to share a gentle kiss with her king._

" _Don't ever apologize for that." Was all she said when she eventually broke the kiss with a kind smile._

" _Even when it feels like a crime?"_

" _That's fine, then you will just be my guilty king."_

_Smirking at that, he couldn't help but say: "What a lovely role model I would be for our child. The criminal dad."_

_This made Inori laugh. "She will love you regardless, Shu." This was followed by a smirk. "And if she won't, I am sure one of the other dozens of kids we will have eventually will."_

" _Wait, what?" Smiling at her nervously, he couldn't help but ask her: "How many did you just say we will have?"_

_That's when her eyes suddenly began to sparkle. "I want at least twenty, Shu! We can do it!" She told him that while putting up her fists in front of her eagerly._

" _Twen-…!" The second half of the word was gulped down quickly from shock. "Now hold on just a second there…"_

_Tilting her head at him cutely, she asked somewhat disappointedly: "We can't?"_

" _Argh, don't give me that look, Inori. You know we can't."_

" _Why not?" She suddenly sounded very desperate as she began looking at him with those sparkling puppy eyes. "We don't have to get them all at once, you know? Given that we will likely live for a couple centuries, we could easily just spread them out in between."_

_Sighing at her as he held his forehead in silent disbelief, he had to ask: "You really just planned our entire life ahead just now, haven't you?"_

" _I can't help it, Shu. I love children! I have wanted to have my very own one for years now! And with how much love there is in us, why just stop at one? We could make a huuuge family!" She told him excitedly as she held out her hands to show him how huge "huuuuge" actually was._

" _You know…" He told her after a defeated sigh, smiling at her antics. "Why no start with one and work our way up from there?"_

_She blinked at him, followed by calming down. He was happy to see that she seemed to understand where he was coming from._

" _Right. That works, too." She nodded contently and beamed at him again."Then tell me, Shu. What will we name her?"_

_This made him chuckle at her. "I noticed it earlier, but you seem to really want a girl, don't you?"_

_For some reason, she averted her gaze as she began playing with her hair awkwardly. "It's not that I want a girl or a boy in particular. It's just that's all I am going to get. As long as I am affected by the Eve curse, all our children will be female." Then she suddenly leaned forward in his direction, looking at him in panic as her eyes began flashing red._

" _B-but if you want a boy, Shu. I could always just bring the apocalypse, so…"_

" _Woah! Easy there. There won't be a need for that." He quickly tried to calm her down by taking hold of her shoulders and pushing her slightly back with a kind smile. "I don't care about that at all. If girls is all I get, then a girl it will be. Anything is fine as long as it's coming from you, after all."_

" _I am glad." She told him with a huge sigh of relief. Shu wondered if she really would have gone as far as to kill half of humanity if he had insisted on sons, though. Knowing Inori for her honesty, she really might have. As worrisome as that had sounded, it still made him somewhat happy that his opinion had such a high standing to her. It's not like he wanted to destroy the world, but knowing that his girlfriend would be willing to do it on a whim if only he had asked her to was really moving. Or perhaps they were just two closet psychopaths all along. He shook off those stupid thoughts with a conflicted smile, deciding that in the end, it didn't really matter. Even if she turned out to be a psychopath, she would still be_ _ **his**_ _psychopath. As he would be hers._

 _He blinked at that realization. So he_ _**would** _ _embrace the sinful path of the apocalypse for her if it made her happy. He had always known that, but seeing how readily the thought had come up in his mind was still shocking. He was no different from her. If she was ready to sacrifice the world, so was he. He closed his eyes with a defeated smile._

_Closet psychopaths, indeed. One step away from embracing lunacy. Well, if it came to that, so be it. Still, if it could be avoided, he would still try to do that. It didn't all have to end in murder and a bloodbath, right? Not yet anyway._

" _Shu? Are you alright?" He heard Inori's lovely voice reaching out to him._

" _I was thinking about something stupid. Doesn't matter anymore." He told her with a small shake of the head, dismissing her worry._

" … _.You don't have to worry about me bringing the apocalypse, you know? I don't want to do it, either."_

" _Forget the apocalypse." He told her with a grin. "We were talking about a name, right?"_

_This made her eyes sparkle again as she began gleaming at him. "Mh-hm."_

" _Well, let's see." He said as his gaze traveled to the ceiling, lost in thought. "A name for our cute little daughter. Hmmmm. Do you have any preferences?" He asked her with a smile. She only shook her head cutely, awaiting his answer. She really wanted him to decide, huh._

_He closed his eyes in thought, thinking back to something._

" _Do you remember…" He eventually told her somewhat nostalgically. "Back when Gai tried to erase you, how you came back to me with the help of a crystal wildflower you left behind?" She nodded, albeit with a heavy heart. It wasn't a nice time to think back on, to be honest._

_He chuckled weakly. "When I recovered from my injuries and was told that you were gone, I went back there and kept looking for another flower. I couldn't see a damn thing, but I didn't care. I kept digging through the rubble even after my hands got all bloody and messy. Yahiro had to drag me away from there to make me stop. He asked me what I was hoping I would find. I told him I would be finding a flower through which you would return. He didn't laugh, or try to tell me that I was being foolish. No, he just brought me back home. The next day, do you know what he brought me? A flower pot. In it was a single wildflower." He laughed sadly. "I told him it wasn't the one I was looking for, but he only chuckled and asked me how I could be so sure. He claimed he had gone back to the ruins and looked for a flower for me. And there, right amidst some weeds, this little flower supposedly grew there. It was the only one he had found. I doubted his words, but something inside me just couldn't let it go. And so I took that flower and looked after it for every single day these damn five years. I didn't know anything about botany. I didn't even get to see it bloom. And yet I still took care of it, hoping that if I did, one day, you would return. And then you just did. Maybe it was due to the flower, maybe it was not, but the thing is…: I kept believing in it. It gave me hope." He finished his story with a content smile._

_His queen, in the meantime, had just listened quietly with eyes sparkling with tears. That was so sweet and sad at the same time. Eventually, though, she closed her eyes with a smile and said:_

" _That's lovely, Shu. A beautiful flower that gives us hope. A blessed wildflower. Hanae."_

" _Hanae." He let that name roll off his tongue for a bit, enjoying the ring it had. Eventually he nodded and smiled at his queen. "I like it. We will raise her and look after her. And one day, she might work another miracle."_

_She snuggled back up to him again. "She will be a small miracle of her own, I bet." She said with a soft giggle. Shu nodded, holding her close with a smirk._

" _Beautiful like her mother, no doubt."_

" _Strong like her father for sure." Inori yawned tiredly._

" _Smarter than both of us combined."_

" _And not a speck of guilt in her heart…" Inori mumbled tiredly as she closed her eyes. Eventually she nodded off, continuing her thoughts in the land of dreams._

_The king planted a small kiss on her forehead before he leaned back on his pillow, looking up at the ceiling dreamily._

" _Yeah, I would like her to be like that. Our beautiful, strong, smart and innocent little blessed wildflower."_

_And with that thought, further soothed by the rhythmic sound of his queen's quiet breathing next to him, he allowed himself to be lulled into sleep as well. As his eyelids grew heavier, he kind of regretted giving his daughter a name so early, for giving things a name brought them into existence. And now that an image of his daughter was floating around in his mind, he couldn't help but wish she was already part of his life._

_Ah, why couldn't there be peace already. It would be so much easier…_

_Maybe there would be peace once he would wake up the next morning?_

_Yeah, right…_

_-GC-_

Shu couldn't withhold a smile at the sweet memory, although he was a bit ashamed about the naïve thoughts of his past self. Before he had been reborn as the true king his Eve needed him to be, he had still wished peace would eventually come.

He frowned. Now he was a wiser man. He knew peace wouldn't come to you just like that. But that was alright. Unlike then, he now knew that if you wanted to have peace, you would have to bring it yourself.

But he digressed. Knowing that Jun was still waiting for a response, he calmly answered:

"… _If this is the name he gave you, then he is legit."_

" _Is that some sort of code word, my king?"_ Jun asked jokingly. _"If so, should I feel hurt that you haven't shared it with me in the first place?"_

" _It wasn't supposed to be a code word, Jun."_ The brunette man replied with a quiet chuckle. _"But I can understand why Inori would use it as one. It's the only thing only we two could possibly know of. If Kyoma knows it, it means he must have gotten it from Inori. And unless she was forced to reveal it to him, that means he is an ally."_

" _Oh? Only you and Inori know that name? How curios."_ Hare snickered mischievously. "Whose name is that, I wonder?"

" _Well, might as well tell you guys, now that the secret's out."_ He sighed at her and shrugged. _"It's the name we both decided on for our daughter."_

" _D-D-D-Daugh-…!"_ Oh my, Hare dot EXE appeared to have encountered a problem there.

" _A princess!"_ Jun exclaimed excitedly. " _Ah, how could I have not seen this coming? There is so much to prepare. So much to think about. Let's see, roughly nine months from now should leave us at…"_ And then there was Jun, seeming to be even more excited than the actual father was. It made Shu question whether his own wish to be a father had been too weak or Jun's devotion to the kingdom simply too strong. He was afraid that next to that man's enthusiasm, everything would seem insignificant by comparison.

" _Put that calendar down, Jun."_ He thus told his brunette friend with an amused laugh. _"We were just thinking about the future. There is no child on the way yet."_

" _Oh, I see. Regrettable. But understandable."_ Jun's voice replied to him rather calmly. It was good that he understood the situation they were in. Who would give birth during warti-. _"After all, we would have to perform a wedding first, right?"_ The question appeared to have been directed at Hare who was likely standing next to him.

" _W-W-W-Wedding…!?"_ Oh no. Hare, don't go crashing after you have just rebooted! Hang in there, girl!

" _Guys, focus."_ Shu tried to get his friends back on track with a nervous smile, happy that Yahiro and Tsugumi weren't able to listen in on crystal conversations or this little chat would likely never end. _"We can talk about this after we get Inori back, alright?"_

" _Of course, my king. I will talk with that Kyoma person for you while you are away. See what he knows."_

" _A-and I will go buy some diapers…!" Hare also informed him quite over-excitedly._

_Sighing at that, Shu could do little but massage his temple. "Hare…!"_

" _Don't worry, Shu. I will have an eye on her." Jun said with a bit of a snicker, obviously feeling amused by the medic's confused state._

" _Thank you. In the meantime, I think it's time for me to make a move."_ Shu thought with a smirk on his lips. This shouldn't be too hard.

" _Good luck, Shu."_ Jun wished him.

" _Stay safe!"_ Hare also told him.

" _Are you sure you don't need more men as backup?"_ Jimmy asked nervously, clearly not feeling good about leaving his king exposed with so few bodyguards to aid him.

 _It'll be fine. I am a ghost on this mission. I will walk and kill unseen. No one will ever even know I was there before it will be too late."_ With that being said,he directed his next words to the snipers he had positioned around Narita airport.

" _Remember, our objective is to force the army to join us. Try to keep casualties to a minimum. Only focus on key targets to ensure the civilians won't get subdued. If they fail with their uprising, we will be forced to fight the SDF ourselves."_

" _Got it, your majesty. Leave it to us."_

Nodding at those words, he couldn't help but crack his knuckles with a smirk. Showtime.

His attention was shifted towards the clones of himself he had hidden among the civilian force with the help of Tsugumi's void. Fragile and weak versions of himself with next to no combat ability whatsoever to keep the upkeep in form of energy consumption low. That was quite alright, though, seeing as to how he had no intention to use them for fighting in the first place. All they needed to do was stir some trouble.

One of the clones began putting down the hood he was hiding under and raised his voice in order to let everyone around him hear him.

"People of Tokyo, I am happy to see you all came together in order to put an end to the madness the SDF is suffering from. Our family members and friends aren't guinea pigs to use for their weird experiments, wouldn't you agree?"

The people near his clones began yelling approving words. Some were raising their fists to show their enthusiasm.

The very next moment, his clone fell to the ground with a bullet hole right between his eyes. A soldier had shot him down with perfect precision from his post on the guard tower. The people around the clone gasped in shock at the sudden kill right next to them. The soldier who had taken the shot smirked smugly at his colleagues, boasting that he had just killed Ouma Shu, most wanted terrorist of Japan. The real Shu could do little but chuckle at the man's naiveté as shortly after, from a different spot, another one of his clones came out from hiding and yelled:

"Did you see that? They try to kill me because they know I am right. They don't want me to uncover the truth. And what's worse is that they were fine with risking your lives as well! If I had dodged that shot, one of you would have been hit instead. Tell me, friends, is that the kind of military you want to be protected by? Can this even be called protection anymore?"

Naturally, there would be confusion about the appearance of a second Shu, yet somehow, the paradox was quickly disregarded due to the fact that many a citizen had already seen the most miraculous things happening with the help of voids. Seeing the killed clone vanishing into silver threads quickly did all the explaining they could possibly need to understand the situation.

Some of the panicked civilians stopped screaming and trying to get some distance between the corpse of his clone due to that and instead directed their now angry looks up to the soldier who had shot him. Whether they were angry at him for killing the fake Shu or due to the fact that he had endangered their lives by taking that shot didn't really matter to the king. All that counted was that he could channel their anger into the right direction. Which, of course, was the SDF.

"Hey, he is right you know? The hell were you thinking, eh?" One of the civilians yelled.

"We have the right to demonstrate peacefully, yet you shoot at us?" Another one claimed.

"First you experiment on our families and now this? Some military you are!"

The soldiers on the guard tower began sweating nervously. This wasn't looking good for them.

"Oi, we might need a bit of backup over here. I don't know what happened but there are multiple Ouma Shus popping up in the crowd, trying to stir up some trouble." The one in charge contacted the HQ via radio. "We killed one, but they keep appearing."

It was quiet for a while until he eventually got a response. "Ignore the Ouma Shus for now. They are likely fakes created with the help of voids. Try to calm the civilians down. I will send out some men and Endlaves with non-lethal weaponry just in case."

What the soldiers didn't know, though, was that Shu could hear their conversation just fine using his Genesis ears. They wanted to send out Endlaves? Just what he had been waiting for, he thought.

As the two heavy war machines approached the fence standing in between the protesters and the soldiers guarding it, the real Shu floating up in the sky summoned Jun's void into his right void hand.

"Assume control of the endlaves down below." Was his order. Soon after, the court advisor's void awoke to life.

_Scanning….._

_Targets located._  
Establishing link….done!  
Connected to JSD-EU23 and JSD-EU5.

"Greetings, King Ouma Shu. How may we serve?"

The king held back a pleased laugh when he read that line on the smartphone's display. Having a conversation with a machine was equally as ridiculous as it was marvelous. What a truly magnificent void his young friend could call his own. Shu would sure enjoy making use of it in the future.

"Bailout the pilots currently controlling you, then proceed to mark every ally as an enemy. Once done, begin using non-lethal force on your enemies. Your objective is to protect every civilian around you to your best ability."

"Affirmative. Executing command."

 _Executing emergency bailout protocol…..failure: no clearance - access denied._  
Connecting to mainframe.  
Accessing database…..done  
Logging in as: Kazumi Kudo, chief engineer - clearance level: B password: ********* ….failure: staff already logged in.  
Logging out Kazumi Kudo….done.  
Logging in as: Kazumi Kudo, chief engineer - clearance level: B password: ********* ….success!  
Executing emergency bailout protocol...success!  
Emergency bailout in….5….4…3…2…error: connection terminated by admin  
Calculating solution, please stand by…..done.  
Creating new entry: Username: Ouma Shu, King - clearance level: SS password: *****  
Logging in as: Ouma Shu, King - clearance level: SS password: *****….success!  
User management: set admin "Ouma Shu"…success!  
Executing emergency bailout protocol...success!  
Emergency bailout in….5….4…3…2…1….done!  
Error: No pilot detected! Endlave unit will now return to docking stat-  
command aborted.  
Performing surrounding scan….done!  
Allies located. Civilians located. Individuals marked on radar.  
Updating categories: Allies into hostiles….done!  
Warning: Several hostiles detected! Endlave unit is surrounded!  
Executing combat protocols:  
Determining threat levels…..done!  
Unlocking tier 1 weaponry…..done!  
Engaging hostiles.

The words had barely appeared on the void's screen when the huge war machines suddenly were seen going limb for a second as if shutting down, followed by reawakening soon after under new command. The formerly hostile machines then proceeded to enter a battle stance out of nowhere and shocking the SDF soldiers around them by shooting a barrage of teargas grenades at their feet, effectively blinding them. This offered Shu the perfect opportunity to strike. Letting one of his clones jump on the back of a car so that everyone could see him, he quickly pointed at the chaos unfolding before the civilians and shouted:

"Look! Even some of the soldiers within the military have begun supporting us! Now is our chance to reunite with our families. We have been oppressed by a military regime once. Never again!"

His clone was soon surrounded by lots of people raising their fists in agreement, screaming loudly in hopes of raising the morale of everyone around them as well.

"Yeah!"

"Let's show them we won't accept their bullshit without resistance!"

"Let's free our families!"

One of the Shu clones among the crowd spotted a man near him taking out a bottle filled with a clear substance and a piece of cloth sticking out of its bottleneck from underneath his coat, undoubtedly having saved the poor-man's grenade as a hidden trump card to use once a good opportunity arose. One such as this. While Shu was surprised to see the weapon given the shortage of inflammable substances currently in circulation, it mattered little to him in the end. Realizing the valuable incineration device for what it was, he waited for the man to light the piece of cloth with his lighter, then quickly took the bottle from his hands with a smirk.

"Allow me." Was all he said as he effortlessly threw the Molotov cocktail against the guard tower in order to cause yet another bravery-inspiring display of utter defeat for the military. The fragile glass container shattered upon impact, plunging the whole upper platform of the guard tower into flames. The two men standing up there were quickly overwhelmed by their panic trying to extinguish the flames that had also spread to parts of their uniform, eventually stumbling back against the fence and falling down to the ground clumsily.

Sure, in terms of actual damage, the Molotov cocktail probably could have been used more effectively, but making the SDF lose their intimidating high ground had a strong psychological effect on the civilians. With the rampaging Endlaves in the back and the loss of an intimidating position high above, the once scary SDF now looked like a bunch they could actually take on. They may have been soldiers, but if anything, it also showed that they were still human. They could be beaten. They weren't all-powerful just because they were better equipped.

And thus, with a valiant battle cry, the civilians charged.

With some help from the Genesis sniper squad to their backs, the fence surrounding the military base was quickly torn down and from there on out, an already chaotic situation became total mayhem. The few soldiers guarding the fence found themselves overwhelmed by the onslaught of raging people. With the traitorous Endlaves to their backs, a spreading fire up front, tear gas all around them and an angry mob of people charging at them, many a soldier forgot their discipline. It didn't actually help that communications with HQ appeared to be disrupted by some sort of unknown hacker attack. With the chain of command temporarily being severed, the defending squad lost their unity and began acting out individually, thus losing every bit of strength they might have had as soldiers.

After all, an army was formed by many people working in unison. Once that stopped happening, they were nothing but soldiers. And no soldier could win when faced with overwhelming odds, no matter how many war stories were trying to claim otherwise.

Some military men and women tried fending off the people non-lethally but where overwhelmed and knocked out. Seeing their comrades being taken down by the people caused more panic to spread amongst the defenders. A couple soldiers appeared to forget their orders and took out their lethal weaponry. It was unclear whether it was merely an attempt to threaten the civilians into submission or something they would actually make use of, but the snipers Shu had posted around the airport weren't going to risk seeing the outcome. With careful shots, the few shady individuals were quickly taken out form a safe distance.

With more and more comrades falling left and right, morale was eventually broken completely. Once the first soldiers began retreating hastily, more and more followed suit, choosing to fall back to a second line of defense to regroup and hold off the assault. The civilians who saw this were ecstatic. Realizing that they made great progress, they decided to push further.

Shu bore witness to all this form high above, smirking at the outcome with folded arms. Everything was going according to the plan he had forged out. With the civilians pressing on and causing chaos, he was free to infiltrate the base himself. Trusting that the Genesis he had brought with him would keep the people of Tokyo safe in his absence, he decided to not waste another second and flew towards one of the airport's hangars.

Landing on the big building's roof, he knelt down next to one of the many narrow skylights to see inside. Normally, this would be where some of the big aircrafts would be brought to for performing maintenance on them, but naturally, ever since the SDF took over the airport, there was no real need for that anymore. Instead, one of the hangars had been repurposed into a place for the soldiers to sleep while another one had been turned into a place to keep the captured Genesis locked up in.

Luckily for the king, he had managed to land on the latter which saved him the hassle of flying over to the other one. Instead, he could now spend his time checking out the security of the improvised detainment center. Given the huge amount of space inside the hangar, he wasn't really surprised to see a lot of people being perched together into multiple cells as much as the fact that said cells had been made up of glass which he initially found to be an odd choice of material. However, upon closer inspection, he had seen some sections of the walls being riddled with cracks, yet being perfectly intact still. That's when he realized that said glass had to be bullet-proof, which suddenly made a lot of sense to him. While certainly not unbreakable by any means, bullet proof glass was not easy to break with force alone. It required some tools to get through it and while Genesis all had voids at their disposal, drawing them would surely draw the attention of the guards keeping a watchful eye on them. A tricky situation.

To break free from such a cell would need some time. Time the guards could use to react to stop them from attempting to break free. It surprisingly made a lot of sense. Furthermore, Shu spotted a few automated turrets hanging from the ceiling, probably programmed to take aim at anyone attempting to break free. Thanks to this, such a huge prison could be supervised by just a handful of guards easily.

Unfortunately for them, though, that only made it easier for Shu to break these people out. Flying down to the guarded entrance to the prison, he was about to ambush the two soldiers holding watch when he noticed a female soldier approaching them.

"Quick, there is trouble at the fence. The civilians are breaking through. We need help holding the line." She told them hastily. The two guards eyed each other nervously.

"How could this happen?" The first one asked himself, while the other one tried contacting his superior over the radio.

"Don't bother. No one is answering. I don't know what's going on but if we ain't getting some backup soon, some fucking civilians will run us over. I don't know about you guys, but I am not going to allow the media to make fun of us even more now."

"You have a point. First the failed invasions on Loop seven, then the blunder at the Kuhouin headquarters. If we can't hold the line against rioters now, the SDF is done for." The first guard agreed begrudgingly, even though his comrade was not as eager to leave his post.

"But what about our guard duty? We can't leave the void freaks unguarded…"

"Forget them. They can't do anything in there as long as we keep the rioters away from them. If we lose control over them any more, the SDF will never regain its respect, whatever little of it is actually left of it." The woman argued with him.

"She is right, man. You can tell how bad the situation is by them not even being afraid to attack us bare-handedly. If we let them walk all over us, we might as well just dissolve the army. Come on!" And with that, he and the woman ran off with an unsure second guardsman eventually trailing behind them in frustration.

"Goddamnit!"

Shu held back a slight chuckle as he looked after them, still being cloaked under his infiltration coat. That's what he would call a tactical error, if you asked him. These military folks were making things easy for him, not that he would complain, of course. Stepping in front of the door, he quickly noticed the keypad next to it. However, due to a certain brunette court advisor's void, such hindrances were no hindrances at all. With a simple command, the keypad display's normally merciless red color was quickly changed into an inviting green, despite there never actually having been a keycard to match the lock. Heh, as if a king needed keys, right?

Stepping into the former hangar, he closed the door behind him to see one soldier turning towards him in surprise. If Shu had panicked for a second, he might have feared the soldier would have been able to see through his guise of invisibility, but in actuality, rationality suggested that the soldier had merely been alerted by the noise of the opening and closing door without anyone actually entering through it. Well, not anyone he could have seen, that was. With the king simply stepping aside, the soldier confusedly began investigating, opening the door to look outside, followed by stepping out to have a better look.

"Huh? Shuichi, was that you? I swear, if this is just a damn prank, I'll..."

And that's when Shu closed the door behind him, using Jun's void to lock it shut so that the guard couldn't enter anymore, even if he had and used the matching keycard. The king snickered when he could hear a muffled "Are you fucking serious?" from the other side.

Too easy. Simply too easy. Either he was too good at this, or the SDF was actually quite pathetic.

Then again, they _did_ manage to capture all these Genesis behind him, so they probably weren't _that_ incompetent. Using a hacking void on an organization that heavily relied on machinery to balance out the shortage of staff was pretty much cheating, he assumed. But then he shrugged mentally. It wasn't like he had to play fair now, was it?

Looking around, he could see a handful of soldiers patrolling the detainment center in a bored manner. Due to the inability of high command to reach them over radio, they hadn't even heard of the breach yet. These guys weren't even on high alert. It would be easy to sneak up on them and take them out one after another, but Shu had an even better idea.

If he was already cheating, he might as well go all out.

"Assume control of all turrets."

 _Scanning area….done!_  
Targets acquired!  
Establishing link…..done!  
Connected to JF-T01, JF-T02, JF-T03, JF-T04, JF-T05, JF-T06, JF-T07

"Greetings, King Ouma Shu. How may we serve?" The now hacked turrets spoke to him through Jun's void. Okay, now Shu was actually sad he would eventually have to give that void back. Couldn't he just keep it forever? This was really awesome!

"I just want you to kindly keep these soldiers from interfering with this prison break." Was all he said with a playful smirk.

"Affirmative."

 _Updating categories: Allies into hostile, hostiles into allies….done!_  
WARNING: Several hostiles have left their designated areas. Executing safety protocols.  
Trigger alarm…done!  
Locking onto targets.

Following the king's command, a siren went off and the automated turrets each locked onto the SDF soldiers who began looking around in confusion. Only once the turrets laser guided barrels began pointing at them did they realize that something terribly wrong was occurring here.

"What is the meaning of this?" One of the guards asked, completely bewildered.

"A malfunction?" Another one guessed.

"We gotta shut them down and restart them, hold on." As the soldier was about to take out a tablet from his pocket to remotely control the turrets, a monotonous voice coming from the turret's speakers warned him:

"Warning: You are in a restricted area. Do not move until authorized personnel has arrived and given further instructions. Failure to comply might result in the use of lethal force."

"But I _am_ said authorized personnel, you…" The man in question shouted back in anger, completely in disbelief over the fact that he was actually trying to speak with these stupid malfunctioning machines.

"Urgh, screw this. I am just gonna shut them down." He told everyone in frustration, trying to type something into his tablet. However, before he could even begin, the turret facing him shot a bullet at his feet, thus startling him.

"Hey, are you nuts?" The man shouted at the device.

"Warning: Do not move until authorized personnel has told you otherwise. This is your final warning."

Gulping at that, he eventually gave up and remained motionless. "You gotta be kidding me…"

Meanwhile, the Genesis inside their cells had naturally borne witness to all of this and begun cheering and/or laughing at the misery of their captors. They might not have understood what was going on, but it certainly had been a welcome change to see these turrets target their guards for once instead of them.

Now that the situation was under control, Shu decided that he no longer needed his cover and thus put his cloak away. This, as a result, made him appear in the middle of the hangar to all the people around him. Most people were surprised to see him appear out of thin air, safe for a couple of Genesis who had noticed the slight distortion of the invisibility cloak as he had passed them by in their cells. Although they may have noticed that something was up, they had chosen to remain silent in hopes that it turned out to be beneficial to them, which it eventually turned out to be.

However, it also became clear that the sudden appearance he had thought to be quite impressive turned out to be quite lackluster instead. That was because the people he had hoped would react in some shocked or amazed way to see him wouldn't even recognize him at all in the end. With questions such as "Huh, where did that guy come from?" or "Who's that?", the king's high spirits were eventually brought back down to earth where he realized that in the end, most of the Mananites here didn't even know who he was, let alone that he was their great king coming to save them all. He held back a disappointed sigh and addressed his fellow Genesis:

"Greetings, Genesis of Loop seven. My name is Ouma Shu and I am also Adam of the apocalypse which makes me your king. I've come to save you."

"King…?"

"Ouma Shu? That's him? The one Queen Mana used to talk about a lot?"

"Yeah, I saw him once. But wasn't he with Inori?"

"The renegade queen? For real?"

"You gotta be kidding me…"

The reactions to his announcement caused quite some chaos among the ranks of Mananites. But while Shu could certainly understand their confusion, this had hardly been the time to have elaborate talks regarding the new sheriff in town, therefore he decided to cut things short:

"Calm down, everyone." He said while performing slow gestures with his hands to ease up the crowd. "We don't have much time to explain, so just listen to me without interrupting me because what I am about to tell you will be important."

Looking around him calmly, he noticed that the voices of the Mananites slowly died out and instead were replaced with nervous silence, much to his relief. At least they would hear him out for now, which made things easier.

"First off, I am not sure how much you guys were able to keep up with what's been happening outside, but there have been some changes you may need to know of. The biggest one being that Mana has rebelled against Da'ath and lost. They killed and stripped her of her title of Eve as a direct result."

"I-impossible…!" Some Mananites began muttering in bewilderment as soon as they had heard the king's explanation, but he simply decided to speak over them, even louder. The seriousness in his voice effectively shutting them up again.

"Furthermore, following Mana's dethronement, Inori Yuzuriha was given the crown as her successor, thus crowning her the new Eve. I was directly appointed as her Adam the very same moment."

This time, the outrage was even stronger. What did he mean Mana was dead and the fake Eve was now the real Eve? Was this supposed to be some kind of joke? It obviously wasn't very funny to them, as Shu could clearly tell.

"I know this is quite some bomb I have just dropped on you all, but it's the truth and you deserve to know it. What you also need to know is that with Inori now in charge, the war between her and Mana is over and therefore, the division into two different factions is no longer needed. You no longer are branded as Mananites, but instead as Genesis. The same as her followers have been all this time. Today, I am speaking to you not as the king of your enemy queen, this so called "renegade queen", but _your_ king instead." He turned around to face all of the Genesis around him.

"That's right." He continued confidently once he saw quite a lot of brows raised at him in surprise. "Eve reigns over and protects _all_ Genesis who are willing to follow her, so as her Adam I am obliged to do the same. That's why I am here. To free my people from imprisonment."

"And what if we don't want to follow her?" A man rudely cut into Shu's speech, causing him to merely shrug back at him.

"Then don't. It's your decision. But before you decide, let me paint you a picture real quick." He faced the man and gestured with his hands to make him envision a framed image in between his hands, followed by addressing everyone around him again.

"Imagine! The kingdom of Eden. A kingdom of our own where Genesis and humans live together in harmony. A kingdom in which there is fairness and equality no matter of your past affiliations. Whether you were a follower of Mana or Inori doesn't matter. Nor whether you are evolved or not. Nor does anyone care whether your void is strong or not. All that matters is you as a person. This will be a kingdom where there is safety and peace. A kingdom where Eve protects everyone and everyone protects Eve. A kingdom that lives up to its very name of Eden. Once you have all that envisioned in front of you, I want to ask you: Do you honestly not want to be a part of that?"

He smiled at them kindly and nodded.

"I know I do."

Many a Genesis was either seen looking at the king in awe or suspicion. Some were eying each other questioningly, undoubtedly wondering whether or not anything the king had just described to them could actually be more than just an idealistic dream. Eventually, some of the more optimistic Genesis surprised him by actually applauding him for his vision. Some even cheered.

Others, however, were not as easily convinced.

"No offense, _my king_. But this place of yours, this "Eden". Can you actually create it?" A dark haired man suddenly spoke up with a loud and serious voice. He was standing amidst a crowd of people inside their cell, but everyone made room for him as soon as he had spoken, allowing him to move forward. His expression was fierce, making Shu think his reddish brown eyes could very well cut holes into the air around them, sharp as his look was. If the scar over his left eye had meant anything, the king would even wager that this man's look was sharp enough to even cut himself, if at all possible. Still, despite all the hostility, or even perhaps of it, the brunette king couldn't help but believe he had seen those eyes somewhere before. Narrowing down his own eyes on the unknown man curiously, he asked him:

"And you are?"

Offering the monarch before him a derisive smirk, he replied: "Doesn't even know the faces that once fought alongside you. The name's Arima. Nakasato Arima."

Shu frowned a bit in an attempt to bring that name into relation with anything that could have been of importance right now. He struggled a bit, but eventually recalled Jun mentioning that name briefly during an earlier meeting.

"You were one of Gai's lieutenants." Shu made the connection. And that's where he could have seen this man before. He had been a former Undertaker. While Shu certainly hadn't spoken to every single one of them, he, at one point, had surely seen this Arima once, maybe even fought alongside him. You couldn't really blame Shu for not recognizing him immediately, though, as he had certainly been at a disadvantage here. As the bearer of the void genome, Shu had pretty much stood at the center of the terrorist group together with Gai as their biggest trump card, so everyone would have known him. Arima, however? To Shu, he had just been another face among others. Heck, at the time he had joined, when the group had still been big, he wouldn't have gone as far to call them comrades even. Back then, he hadn't really had any intentions to make friends and stay, after all.

Sure you could argue that he must have had at least important enough to become Gai's lieutenant in the end, but Shu kind of doubted that still. If this guy really had held even just a bit of importance, Shu was sure Gai, or at least Ayase, would have introduced him to Shu at one point. So either this guy died to the virus before anyone got the chance to, or, and this was far more plausible to the king, he hadn't really mattered before dying. Still, this Arima person now had a pretty high opinion of himself because of that, or at least that was how Shu interpreted this man and the whole aura surrounding him. He was pretty respected among his peers as well, or else their behavior towards him wouldn't have made much sense with them making room for him and all. The king held back an annoyed sigh. Was that it? Another fool on a power trip? Or perhaps there was another reason for him to try undermining Shu and his vision?

Having an analyzing eye on the man, Shu decided to respond with: "I do. And honestly, if not even Adam and Eve can make that kingdom a reality, then who can?"

"It's not a question of Adam and Eve being able to or not, I am asking whether or not you and Inori are the right ones for the job. I know Gai would have been able to, but you…"

The monarch frowned at the former Undertaker and tried really hard not to roll his eyes. Of course. He was one of _these_ guys. Maybe Shu should just put him in a box and ship him off to Arisa. He was sure those two would get along just splendidly. From one groupie to another and all.

"Yeah, he was great in many things. Remember that one time he turned against us all and told us to sit down and die while he brought the apocalypse…? That was awesome. Quality leadership right there, if you ask me. Good times." Shu decided to respond sarcastically, much to Arima's disdain.

"How dare you…!"

Realizing that talking to this man any further would be nothing but a waste of his precious time, the king merely decided to cut right iinto Arima's rant and said:

"Look, you can idolize the man as much as you want, but that's not gonna bring him back or anything. If you can't live in a kingdom in which I am king and not him, then feel free to settle down anywhere else in the world. That applies to you all, by the way." He turned around to the rest of the Genesis. "If you can't live in peace alongside humans, can't put aside the differences with Inori's followers or can't accept me or Inori as your king and queen, then you don't have to. Once we have torn down the quarantine walls surrounding Tokyo, you can all just go wherever you want. All I am offering you here is a fresh start with a new queen. Take it or leave it, I really don't give a damn, alright? You don't even have to decide right now, either." He pointed towards something outside of the hangar and continued.

"There are a lot of people outside wanting to free you as well. Your friends and family. So here's what I want you guys to do: I am going to open your cells and free you. All you have to do is rendezvous with the civilians and protecting them which should be in your interest as well. The military shouldn't be using lethal weapons, so don't kill them, either, because I will need them in the future. Can you do that for me?"

"Why shouldn't we kill them after all they did to us?" One of the former Mananites asked him angrily. Many voices were raised in agreement. The SDF surely hadn't made friends over here, it seemed. Well, hardly surprising after all Shu had found out about them.

"Because if you do, I'll have a harder time saving my queen from Da'ath. They captured her and I want to get her back. But I will need help for that. Therefore, if you have just the faintest speck of hope in you that my vision of Eden could come true, I want you to do as I have told you, reunite with your friends, protect them, go home with them and catch up on all the things you have missed. Then, after a good night's rest, I hope to see the majority of you at my base in Yokohama. You can ask Samukawa Jun for specifics over the crystal network if you need to."

Following that explanation, he was confronted with a barrage of questions in return.

"What do you mean Inori got captured by Da'ath?"

"Oi, does that mean you haven't talked to her about any of this?"

"Can there really be amnesty for us that way?"

"What about the other Genesis, will they accept your terms if we do, too?"

"Do you _really_ need those assholes of the SDF for that plan of yours? Why can't Genesis be enough?"

Grimacing at the overwhelming amount of sudden questions, he was forced to groan at them. With a strong stomp on the ground and his eyes flashing up red for just a second, he commanded:

"Silence!"

He wasn't exactly sure whether or not it was due to his flashing eyes or the commanding tone of his voice, but everyone shut up and watched him in silence immediately. He cleared his throat and tried to calm down as to not let his impatience have the better of him.

"Sorry about that, but as I said, there really isn't much time for a Q&A. However, I swear to you that everything I have said just now is true. If you wish to accept me and Inori as your king and queen, you _will_ be granted amnesty and a fresh start. I haven't talked to Inori about this because I didn't have the opportunity, but I _know_ her, alright? She doesn't hold grudges. From the bottom of her heart, she just wants everyone to get along, so if you genuinely ask her for a second chance, she will grant you one for sure. As for everyone else, do you really think they are in a position to send you away when Da'ath has taken their queen hostage? We _need_ to work together for this. Everyone from my side understands that. And do you really think anyone will still be mad at you after you have proven your loyalty by helping to get our queen back? Besides, I am their bloody king, for fuck's sake. If they behave out of line, I will deal with it, alright? Naturally this goes for your side as well. Does that clear up your doubts for now?"

He looked around to confirm whether or not anyone was still unsure about this, but all he saw were people looking at each other with faces of resolve, or at least acceptance. If anyone still had doubts about it, they were disregarded for now and put aside for another time. After all, Shu did have a point. What really mattered right now was to get everyone out of their cells. What happened afterwards could wait.

"Looks like we are finally on the same page here. Good. I am going to free you now. I made my offer to you. All that's left for you is to think it over together with your friends and relatives. I can understand if you don't want to join another fight, but I still hope to see a lot of you at my place tomorrow. The fight I have chosen to fight is an important one after all. By participating in it, you will effectively send a message to Da'ath and your queen. That we Genesis stand as one. That we won't accept anyone to mess with our queen. We are the future. We alone decide our fate. No one holds power over us but ourselves. No SDF, no Da'ath. No one. We are Genesis. We are free."

As if on cue, Jun's void awoke to life following the king's words.

 _Task received._  
Scanning surroundings…done.  
Holding cells in Hangar 1: 25  
Cells with detected genomic resonance: 24  
Unlocking cells 1-24….done.  
_All Genesis are free. Task complete._

Looking down at the smartphone's screen, Shu could only smirk in response. "Why thank you. Way to make a point."

Surprised at the sudden taste of freedom, the former captives began rushing out of their cells as soon as their initial shock had vanished. Everyone drew their voids and raised them up high in a loud cheer. Some praised the king while others seemed to merely be happy to be out of their confinements at last. The SDF soldiers which had been held at gunpoint by the automated turrets were now escorted back into their cells by the "authorized personnel" they had been supposed to keep locked away in said cells in the first place. There was little more to do for the soldiers but to accept their situation with angry growls.

"You guys will never get through with this madness. Found your own kingdom? Don't make me laugh." One of them grumbled as he was shoved into the glass cells forcefully.

"Joke's on you. I am already laughing at your pathetic state." The Genesis woman who pushed him into one of the cells with her void laughed right back at him.

"Who are you to stop the Genesis when you are being trapped by your own devices!" Another one joined in.

"And yet you guys could do nothing until this self proclaimed king of yours showed up…"

"Wouldn't be a kingdom without a king, no?" The woman told him with a mocking smirk. "There is a reason we choose to follow kings and queens, you know."

"Pah. Over half of you were terrified of your queen before."

"Well, yeah. They _are_ terrifyingly strong after all. Queen Mana did have a short fuse most of the time. But that's just how things are. The strong lead the weak. Adam and Eve lead us and we lead you."

"Lunatics." Was all the soldier could say in response with a shake of the head. With that, every SDF soldier was now effectively held inside the cells, earning more cheers from the former captives.

"Alright." Shu tried getting their attention back after confirming that all the cells had been relocked with the help of Jun's void. "Now that everyone's free, I want all of you to do as I have asked of you. Meet up with the civilians fighting for your freedom and protect them as you guide them back into safety. Every able soldier is then kindly asked to report to Samukawa Jun at my base in Yokohama in order to join my war effort to free our queen. Understood?"

He got another eager cheer in response, causing him to nod approvingly. He had a good feeling about their willingness to join his army, given how eager they sounded. Heck, if even just half of them joined, that would still mean he got plenty of soldiers he didn't have before. Any Mananite joining him was a net gain. And he could use every bit of power he could possibly get.

"One more thing. I need about 10 to 20 volunteers to overthrow the General of the SDF. Strong voids preferred." He looked around him, thinking he would be lucky to get even just a handful of them interested at best. To his surprise, however, he saw many former Mananites gathering around him with their voids drawn and ready for action.

"Just tell me who to kill, boss." One man smirked at him in anticipation. The rest matched his vigor.

"Me and my void are at your service."

"Woooo! Hail to the king, baby. I'm in." Another one cheered excitedly.

"Let's get them back for what they did to us, eh?"

Well, that wasn't exactly expected by Shu, but he would take it. These Mananites came as quite the mixed bag, he noticed. A lot of them were quite wild and tribal in their mindset which was a bit harder to handle than the Genesis back home were. But on the flipside, that made them all eager for battle which meant he didn't have to motivate them first. As long as he gave them a target to vent their violence on, they would gladly follow suit. That would work for now, although he and Inori would have to figure out how to deal with them once the war was finally over.

If it ever would be over, that was.

He dismissed that pessimistic thought almost immediately and held out his void arm as he looked at his volunteers confidently.

"Then join me, comrades. I'll lead the way." With a smirk, everyone put their hand over the king's one, followed by each of them vanishing into the brunette man's void. Shu was about to retract his arm with a satisfied nod, when he noticed yet another hand being placed on top of it. Looking up to the hand's owner, he was quite surprised to see Arima's face.

"We haven't finished talking yet. Let's finish this fast so that we can get back to it, _king_." Was all he said with a serious expression.

The brunette monarch narrowed his eyes at him and said: "Fine by me, _vassal._ "

And with a mocking "Hmph", the dark haired man vanished into Shu's void as well. Now then, since that's been over and dealt with, it was time to get to the main event.

Or that's what he had wanted to do, at least. However, the king's attention was caught by a group of Genesis who, instead of heading out like he had told them to, had been distracted by something and had decided to stay behind. Raising a brow at them in curiosity, he headed over to them and pushed his way through their ranks to have a look at what they were gathering around. It was yet another cell and inside was a single SDF soldier, which in on itself was odd. He wasn't one of the guards shoved into the cells by the Genesis which meant he must have been in here even before that. Not only was it weird that the SDF would imprison their own men, but it was also strange that he had gotten an entire cell for himself. What was this VIP treatment for, Shu wondered. However, that was only until he realized who exactly had been locked in there. He was quick to recognize the man with an angry frown.

"Well, well, well…if it ain't Lieutenant Sada." Shu said with folded arms, causing the man with square glasses and spiky black hair to look at him. "Never would have thought you of all people ended up in a prison cell, though that's undoubtedly where you belong."

"Ouma Shu." The army officer responded with a sneer. "The man who breeds his own monster army. Why am I not surprised to see you here to free your abominable creations?"

"You make me sound like an evil scientist. Yet it was you who tried experimenting on my people." He said with a smirk, yet eyes cold as ice. Shu had seldom seen a man as despicable as the man before him, and that meant a lot, considering how he had met men like the envoy of Da'ath, or Daryl the butcher. This guy could even compete with both of them in terms of being a scumbag, yet was dangerous in his very own way. Lieutenant Sada had, after all, been the driving force of cruelty and violence against the captured Genesis. In all the files Tsugumi had downloaded from the SDF database, everything that had had his name associated with it had been filled with acts of torture and human experimentation. He was a man that was obsessed with his hatred for Genesis, rejecting them with every fiber of his body. He called them an abomination, yet the only abomination the king could see here was the lieutenant himself.

Yes, while people like Yuu were a danger to Shu for being cunning bastards with evil motives that harmed him and Inori, lieutenant Sada posed a danger to the Genesis population itself. Elitists like Yuu wanted to see the world progress at all costs and psychopaths like Daryl Yan merely wanted to see it burn for their own selfish reasons, but Sada? He was the kind of man that caused genocides. Holocausts.

Shu looked down on this man with nothing but pure contempt. That's right. He was absolute trash.

"All I did was trying to reverse engineer them." Was all the lieutenant said to his defense. "If we could learn how you made them, perhaps we could find a way to undo them again. But that foolish general wanted me to stop all experiments. He made the mistake of thinking you guys are still human, but how could you be? The base of your DNA may be human, but there is so much more, so much _alien_ matter. No, you are no humans. And what the general fails to see, I actually noticed. This is an invasion. It has only just started, but its goal is the destruction of mankind."

The Genesis around the king looked at each other in disbelief. One even mockingly tapped her own forehead to showcase how dumb she thought the lieutenant to be. Shu had to try hard to not laugh out loud at the gesture, instead opting in on focusing solely on the imprisoned lieutenant before him. Sighing at him, he said:

"Conspiracy theorists would love you, I bet. I gotta disappoint you, though. It's not aliens invading our world, but merely nature doing its work. Humanity is evolving, and you are merely afraid of being selected out. I get it. It's scary. But fear is no excuse for the crimes you have committed against my people. Mutilation, torture, performing surgery on them, probing them like lab rats…you just know I can't let that slide, do you?" Shu held up Jun's void and unlocked the Lieutenant's prison, causing the man to raise a brow at him.

"What are you doing?"

He opened the door and went inside, closing the door behind him.

"You see, I want to live in a world in which humans and Genesis can coexist peacefully, Mr. Sada." Shu told him as he put a hand on the man's shoulder and offered him a smile, even if just a forced one. "That's why you can probably understand why people like you are a problem, right?"

"Because we see though your schemes and resist your quest for world domination? Don't play dumb with me, boy. I can see how you are brainwashing these _things_ into following you. No ordinary human being would normally go along with such a fiendish plan."

"If I was brainwashing people, why would I have to spend ages trying to convince them to follow me? Your logic is flawed, lieutenant. You are either in denial about it due to your pride or really are too simple to see the bigger picture here. I am trying to save you here by offering you the chance of evolving. Assuming you survive the process, you might come to see the world in a new light and redeem yourself by serving the people you have wronged." Shu tried to convince the man while the Genesis behind him became noisy in protest.

"Um…King Shu, could you please reconsider?" One of them forced himself to gulp down his anger and address his new king with respect. "I am sure I am not the only one who feels this man does not deserve to stand among our ranks. The gift of evolution….it would be wasted on him, sir…um, I mean your majesty."

"I know." Shu replied to the worried man behind him by facing back halfway over his shoulder, never fully letting Sada leave his sight. "I can see where you are coming from and even though I share your concerns, the way of our queen is a way of mercy and forgiveness. Inori…Eve wants to believe in the good of people from the bottom of her heart. It has been hard for her lately and the harshness of the world has begun saddening her. As her king, I wish to bring a smile back on her lips. Therefore, I need to at least try bringing out the good in people as well." He narrowed his eyes on Sada with a mixture of contempt and anger. "Even when I find it hard to believe that there is any good left in them myself."

The man in question could only shake his head in response, choosing to offer the king an amused chuckle as he readjusted his square glasses confidently, obviously thinking he knew it all. "Just listen to yourself, Ouma Shu. You sound like a madman, speaking of kings and queens. Who is this queen you speak of? Your alien overlord? If so, you can spare me your "mercy". Like hell I would like to mutate into one of you monsters and become another one of your marionettes." The lieutenant brushed his hand off his shoulder with quite a scowl once he had finished talking.

"Are you sure? This might be your last chance to atone." Shu told him patiently, yet with clearly no kindness in his eyes.

"I will never abandon humanity. Everything I did was for the sake of humanity, after all. Therefore, my conscience is clean. I have nothing to atone for. Tell your _queen_ that." Was the lieutenant response to that. Not even the faintest bit of hesitation or doubt was to be heard in his voice. Well, fine with Shu. No one could claim he didn't try. All he could do was offer a way. If people refused to take it, it was no longer his business what happened to them.

"Fine then." The king said with narrowed eyes as he stepped back and opened the door once more to step out. "I don't do mercy anyway." He looked down as if slightly ashamed of himself before he eventually left the cell. "Not anymore."

He never relocked the door again.

"H-hey, Ouma Shu. You forgot to lock the door. Ouma!"

Ignoring the lieutenant's disturbed voice, the brunette monarch instead turned his attention towards the Genesis patiently waiting outside.

"Do what you must and then meet up with the civilians. Make it quick." Was all he had to say to them to plant evil smirks across all their faces. They began flocking into the cell with drawn voids soon after, surrounding the human purist who was looking at them in utter fear now.

"Get away from me you fiends! Ouma, call your barbaric creations back."

He ignored his pleas as he headed for the door.

"At least give me a weapon to defend myself! Ouma, you cruel basta-ouf!" A fist found its way into his stomach and cut him off halfway through his sentence.

"That's _King_ Ouma to you, asshole." One of the Genesis said, never losing his evil smirk as he began putting the blade of his void saber near the lieutenant's face. "Now, after all the time you spend cutting off our fingers to find out if they would grow back, tell me: Do yours grow back, too?" He eagerly turned around to face his fellow Genesis and asked them excitedly: "Who wants to find out?"

Everyone yelled words of agreement as they readied their voids as well. The malice felt towards that man was so thick that the king felt he could have cut right through it with Yahiro's shears had he attempted to. Not that he believed that it was not to be expected. Standing at the door, he threw one last glance back at Sada from the corner of his eyes. Once the man began crying out in pain to reap the punishment he had sowed himself, the king eventually turned around and left without the slightest bit of sympathy for him.

Somewhere deep down in his heart, he was saddened by this, being able to faintly remember the boy he once used to be. The old him would have never allowed this to happen. He would have tried to convince the Genesis that revenge was not the way. That there would be another way. At the very least, he would have probably killed him himself to both save Sada the cruelty of torture.

But not anymore. He was done with saving everyone, especially people who didn't even deserve it. He was not a saint, nor a savior. He was a king. And a king only had to look after his people. This quite obviously didn't include Lieutenant Sada, as was shown by the man's refusal to accept Inori's mercy in the end. As far as Shu was concerned, that already sealed the deal. People who did not follow his lead did also not deserve his protection. He only had two responsibilities: His people and his queen. His people craved their revenge? Let them have it. If they helped him get Inori back, they deserved to be rewarded with things they desire. As for Inori herself, there would be no mercy for anyone who dared stand in his way of getting her back. Not for the SDF, not for Da'ath. Not. A. Single. Person.

There would be no rest for him until he could hold her in his arms again. That was his resolve.

For a moment he stopped and looked down on his hands, silently wondering what he would be looking at in a couple of days from now, or even years. Would they still be the hands of a king, or instead be the hands of a mass murderer? The hands of a ruthless extremist? He closed his eyes sadly.

The hands of a tyrant?

He was aware that he might have begun treading on a dark path and he could understand his late sister now more than ever. To the outside world, to Inori and even him, she had seemed like a vicious beast lashing out towards anyone who didn't agree with her, but deep down, perhaps that wasn't really the case. Perhaps, Shu thought, protecting the things important to you and regaining the things taken from you required certain sacrifices to be met. Mana had sacrificed her popularity in an attempt to get him back from Inori. Now he was ready to sacrifice anyone that didn't cooperate with him just to do the same for his queen.

He silently wondered: Once he would stand in front of his beloved Eve again, would she still be able to see the man she had fallen in love with all these years ago? Would he still possess the humanity that had moved her heart? And if not, if the loss of his humanity made him become the monster she had always feared to turn into herself, would she still love him regardless? The answer to that question was slightly terrifying and Shu had trouble finding the strength to gulp it down and forget it for the time being. There were currently more important things resting on his plate, as weird as it may have sounded.

That's because in the end, no matter whether Inori's feelings for him would change or not. His own ones for her never would. He would venture to hell and back for her even if she were to hate him for it with all her heart, as hard to believe as it may have been. Such was the extent of his love for her. It was unconditional. Unwavering. Absolute. Even if he were to lose everything else that defined him in the darkness that threatened to erode his heart. This, he vowed as he put his void hand over his heart, he would never lose. His hand was soon after clenched into a fist.

That's why he had to march forward.

Lifting his gaze, he steeled himself and looked forward with nothing but determination in his eyes as he took another step on his chosen path.

For her.

Always.


	7. No more playing nice

**7\. No more playing nice**

The tension was rising at Narita Airport's control tower, as the command center had been plunged into chaos just a little while ago.

First, the civilians of Tokyo had gathered in front of the SDF's base in protest. When Iwamoto had asked the police to help him out with dealing with them, he had only gotten weak excuses from the chief in charge, claiming that his men were understaffed and couldn't assist. It was only later that he found out from Lieutenant Koruba that the chief's daughter once had a fiancé, and, as fate would have it, his name had been on the list of prisoners currently held by the SDF, so there was that.

Sometime later, the protests seemed to escalate due to several sightings of Ouma Shus among them. In an attempt to show military strength and intimidate the civilians, a squad of Endlaves was sent out to prevent any further escalations.

But that's when things had gone really south. The Endlave pilots controlling the war machines had been bailed out, followed by the Endlaves themselves turning against the SDF soldiers deployed alongside them. What had been meant to intimidate the civilians, had instead caused them to become inspired. By showing them the SDF's weak side, they suddenly felt stronger and capable of opposing them, so they had attacked.

The mysterious hacker had jammed the radio signal in the area right afterwards, preventing Iwamoto and his lieutenants to give out orders to regain control of the situation. With their first line of defense so horribly breached, Lieutenant Koruba had been sent out directly to organize a retreat to the second line of defense in order to regroup and push the civilians back. Non-lethally, if at all possible.

Meanwhile, the chief of engineering, Kazumi Kudo, had attempted to kick out the hacker from the SDF's network…to no avail. To the contrary, she was completely kicked out herself and the mysterious individual that had had the nerve to call himself "King Ouma Shu" had taken over the system in the meantime, preventing further use of Endlaves and auto-turrets whatsoever. Whether the hacker was actually Ouma Shu was rather doubt worthy, yet who could even know for sure at this point?

The captives of Loop seven had somehow broken free afterwards and reunited with the civilians so desperately fighting to free them. However, Iwamoto was surprised to see the void users merely forming a defensive line around their relatives as they slowly retreated back into the city. Koruba didn't give chase and instead decided to hold the line in case it was a trick to storm the control tower afterwards.

So far, however, nothing had happened afterwards. Not that the situation hadn't been bad enough as it was.

With the civilians breaking in and the captives breaking out, the reputation of the SDF was pretty much ruined. It didn't really matter that the civilians hadn't actually broken the revived people out themselves and had merely acted as a diversion for the actual culprit to do so, the public would surely see it that way. And once word got out that even mere civilians had been able to beat the military, no one would still take them seriously anymore.

Leaning his head against the bridge his hands formed on the desk before him with closed eyes as if lost in thought, General Iwamoto knew that his days in the SDF were over. Normally he would already be stripped of his rank and be replaced by someone else, but he knew no one would come.

The prime minister, while clearly displeased with him, had refrained from demanding his replacement on the spot like he normally would have. There were no real actions taken against him. All that he had demanded from Iwamoto was to "fix that goddamn mess somehow." He hadn't cared how.

That's when Iwamoto realized what he had subconsciously known all along. There would be ne replacement for him because the government would not send new people into the quarantine zone. Which meant: No reinforcements and therefore no new general to take over. Looking at this positively, this meant that he would likely remain in charge until he either died or his lieutenants rebelled against him. On the flipside, though, that also meant that his branch of the SDF had been abandoned by the government from the very beginning.

They had never been meant to stop the void freaks of Loop seven. Never been meant to capture Ouma Shu and his band of terrorists. The SDF's and therefore the general's deployment had all been a farce to let the public believe the government was doing something to gain control of the situation. However, the politicians in charge had either never expected the SDF to succeed from the start or hadn't wanted them to as a whole, or otherwise they would have avoided no expense to secure Tokyo once and for all.

Iwamoto grumbled angrily as he looked forward with a serious expression. He had figured out the situation, but couldn't quite wrap his head around the why.

Why had the government given up on them the moment the lockdown had been in place, merely opting in to supply them with rations to ensure their survival, thus basically putting them on life support rather than doing whatever was in their might to save them? It's almost as if they knew Iwamoto hadn't stood a chance. Or perhaps they had known that the outcome wouldn't have mattered. The excuse of finding a cure to the apocalypse virus while he was securing Tokyo may have just been a lie all along. Maybe everyone knew that there was no cure. That even if Iwamoto had been able to secure Tokyo, none of its population would ever be allowed to leave again. Maybe that was why the security on the outer walls was so high despite Iwamoto having asked for more soldiers here in the actual fray. Maybe the government didn't want to assigns more soldiers to a mission they knew no one would come back from.

Iwamoto sighed quietly and looked down in realization.

They never had been the SDF to start with. Just a group of sacrificial pawns sent to hold the line. None of them had ever been expected to return. They had been written off as dead the moment they had been assigned the mission.

Iwamoto felt bad for the soldiers who had signed up for this mission voluntarily now. So many young men and women stepping forward in an act of patriotism. Putting faith in their country to go find a cure outside while they would make sure everything was in order on the inside. They hadn't been like Iwamoto, the unfortunate fool who had merely happened to be in Tokyo at the time of the incident. They had chosen to be here and therefore to die here. Even if they hadn't known it at the time.

So, where did this put Iwamoto and his soldiers? Knowing that his mission had been a farce from the get-go and no more support to be expected from either the SDF or the civilians of Tokyo, what _could_ he still do?

Looking at this logically, he would have to ensure his men would survive. However, they couldn't do so by themselves. They couldn't fight everyone. Loop seven, Ouma Shu, the civilians of Tokyo. His military strength wasn't high enough to oppose them all. If support from outside was impossible to attain, he needed support from at least one of those parties on the inside to ensure his soldiers wouldn't get overrun.

Iwamoto refused to ask for the support of terrorists, especially Ouma Shu…the fake hero of Japan who dared to even form his own pitiful "kingdom" on Japanese ground, its capital even! In Iwamoto's eyes, they were the definition of traitors and couldn't be trusted.

The Loop seven captives they had questioned suggested that there was another force acting in Loop seven, different from Ouma Shu. The general would like to believe that this was true, because if it was, it would likely mean that Ouma Shu and that unknown force were at odds with each other. Otherwise they would have used their combined force to gain control over all of Tokyo, rather than just Loop seven and its outskirts. However, even if this theory was true and not merely a scheme of Ouma Shu to fool him, convincing that mysterious group, this so called "Mana", or whoever these revived people refer to as "Queen", would be nigh impossible. Not only didn't Iwamoto know how to contact this so called queen, he also didn't think she would want to hear him out after he had led several attempted attacks against her on her territory. Before the prisoners were freed, Iwamoto could have used them as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations, but now that he had lost that, he saw only little chance of success.

So, this only left him with the civilians. Regaining their trust would be…difficult to say the least, but perhaps not impossible. All he really had to achieve was to show that the military always was on their side and always would be. He could achieve that by putting the blame of capturing their relatives on the government, then cutting ties with them, declaring that his soldiers were now acting independently from them, which, in all honesty, wasn't all that much of a lie to begin with, given how the government had abandoned his men from the start. It became questionable whether or not the politicians would continue to supply them with food, vaccines and ammunition once he did that, but if they stopped, everyone in Tokyo would die in less than a month of either starvation or the virus infection. That blood would be on the government's hands and there was no way the people of Japan would allow that to happen. Well, maybe. It was a gamble.

Regardless of that, Iwamoto would have to capture Ouma Shu and squeeze some explanations out of him, preferably make him admit to his crimes in public. If he could manage to achieve that, Iwamoto's public standing would be restored and his soldiers would regain the respect and trust of the people. The situation in Tokyo could be stabilized again and with civilians and soldiers working together, they could at least make sure they could defend themselves from the threat of Loop seven. At the very least, Iwamoto could ensure that the enemy stayed confined inside their part of the city while everyone else could freely and safely move around in the rest of the quarantine area. Especially once Ouma's terrorist group was out of the way as well.

But that was the tricky part. How to capture Ouma Shu? He hadn't exactly been able to locate his exact hideout, assuming he really was acting independently from Loop seven. Even though Iwamoto's soldiers had increased their search in the industrial sector of Yokohama, they hadn't really found much of a clue. The hideout must have been picked really well if it was really was there. The General could risk everything on one bet and send everyone out there to turn every stone over in order to find it, but that would leave Narita exposed. If he was wrong and Ouma would attack from a different direction, it would be over for Iwamoto. And that was only assuming Loop seven wouldn't use the chance to attack as well. Granted, they never had until now, but maybe all they did was wait for the right opportunity. Troublesome.

Perhaps he could use the insight of someone else to broaden his view. There might be an approach he hadn't considered yet. He threw a glance over to lieutenant Takarada who was busy monitoring chief engineer Kudo's progress with retaining control of their systems.

Takarada was young and therefore a bit naïve, but offered the general a different view on things because of it. He also had just enough of a spine to stand up for his opinion even if it differed from Iwamoto's while never forgetting his place and downright opposing him as a result. This made Takarada extremely useful for providing approaches the general would normally never come up with. While Iwamoto would seldom agree with Takarada and do things his way, his input may often lead to adjustments in Iwamoto's original plan. Perhaps this man's opinion could be of value yet again, even if slightly annoying to deal with.

"Lieutenant, report." He thus addressed him with a stern expression.

"Sir, we have yet to regain control of the system, but we managed to gain access to the security cameras again. As we had feared, hanger 1's holding cells for the captives are all empty aside from a few of the guards being stuck in them. The turrets appear to have changed their targets just like the Endlaves before have."

"I see. Is anyone hurt?"

"From what I can see, there is only one soldier missing. The rest is unharmed, but trapped in the cells. However, there is one casualty."

"Lieutenant Sada, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir." Takarada said with a troubled look. "Or at least I believe so. The cameras are unable to scan his face, but the cell number matches. The sight is quite…unnerving to say the least."

"That's hardly a surprise. Given his deeds against the prisoners, it was highly likely they would seek revenge. Their escape was the worst thing that could have happened to him." Iwamoto stated with a frown.

"I may not have liked lieutenant Sada much, but what they must have done to him is just cruel. Not even he had deserved such a fate. Perhaps you were right about them not being safe, general." Takarada admitted defeat with downcast eyes.

"Well, we will find out soon enough now that they are free. Sada might have been an exception. At least I hope so. They _did_ protect the protesting civilians, after all. And no soldiers were harmed from what we can tell, right?

"Yes, aside of lieutenant Sada, none of the guards in the hangar have sustained injuries. We will have to wait for Koruba's report to see how his force has fared, though."

"Now that it has come to this, what do you suppose we should do to get back on our feet?" Iwamoto asked curiously.

Readjusting his glasses with a serious expression, Takarada took a moment before he answered:

"Given our current situation, we will likely have to deal with opposition from the civilian population from now on. Operations in Tokyo will either become very hard or come to a standstill altogether. As it stands, even Ouma Shu holds more popularity than us."

Iwamoto nodded at Takarada's evaluation of the current situation. That's pretty much the same conclusion he had come down to as well. The question was what Takarada believed they should do to fix it.

"Yes, so what do you suppose our next actions should be?"

The brunette man was seen looking away for a moment as if unsure whether or not he should actually speak the following words out, yet decided to do so anyway with a troubled expression.

"If receiving reinforcement from outside isn't an option…" He began with a bit of hope, resulting in the shake of Iwamoto's head.

"It isn't, lieutenant. We are on our own."

With Takarada's hope crushed right in front of him, he could do little but continue his sentence with a sigh.

"Then I fear our only option from now on is to negotiate a truce with Ouma Shu. Once everyone hears that he has been right about the prisoners we had held in our base, we will look like the bad guys and he will have gained a lot of trust from the people in return. If we could get him to clear our name somehow, we might still have a chance to operate in Tokyo."

"Foolish." Iwamoto sighed at him while shaking his head. "Negotiating with terrorists means acknowledging that they are enough of a threat to us. The population will notice that and our public standing would be even worse."

"I honestly doubt it could get any worse than it is now, sir." Takarada said nervously."Besides, if the goal was to show that terrorists have no power over us, then the government should have put more effort into supporting us in the first place. I feel like we have been fighting a war with sticks and stones in here. Even if the politicians had underestimated the power of Ouma Shu and his void terrorists, they could have at the very least sent reinforcements and better gear in order for us to keep up by now."

"Indeed…" Iwamoto agreed with his lieutenant while scratching his bearded chin thoughtfully. "I am contemplating distancing ourselves from the government in order to save face, but this could have bad consequences for the rest of Tokyo."

Takarada gulped audibly and nodded in agreement. "If they stopped bringing in supplies…" He didn't dare finish the thought, knowing full well how devastating that would be. As starvation would become more and more of a problem, so would chaos rise on the streets as people would try to overcome it. Nothing but a futile struggle for in the end everyone would starve nonetheless.

"Tch, that brat might have had a point with his thoughts of independence." The general grumbled angrily to himself. "It's madness to form your own state, but it would be smart to be self-sufficient when the outside has clearly given up on the people living inside.

If his men hadn't been looked down so much by the population due to Shu's propaganda against them, Iwamoto might even have started making plans to work towards self-sustainability. There were plenty of farmlands to the west in Kujukuri they could have used to grow their own food in case of abandonment by the government, though that would have been pretty long-term planning given how it was currently winter and there would be nothing to harvest for at least half a year. Needless to say, such plans were useless from the start if the civilian population wouldn't cooperate. All the lands in the world would do only little good when there were no farmers to make use of them. And then there was the problem of making vaccines as well…

"We need a victory somehow. Something to show that we are capable of keeping Tokyo safe. Did Sada's stupid research lead us to anything we could use at least?" Iwamoto asked with a bit of frustration added into his voice.

Shaking his head slowly, Takarada took out his holo-tablet and checked some files on it. "We went through it, but he was mainly focused on finding a way to reverse the genetic augmentations. To no avail. He couldn't find a trace of human interference and therefore couldn't determine where to even start to reverse it. He did spend a bit of effort into finding a cure to the apocalypse virus, but never got to any useful results. It's not like the evolved have created antibodies for us to use. It's just that the virus as a whole seems to ignore them. Sada suspected their new strain of DNA to be the cause of it, perhaps acting as a detergent of some sorts, but if that's really the case, he couldn't determine what exactly caused the virus to ignore the evolved and didn't seem much interested in spending more time to find out. He seemed to have disregarded any option of us using the same way of genetic augmentation to gain immunity ourselves for some reason." Takarada reported in detail with a frown.

"That's because he hated them." Iwamoto grumbled absent-mindedly as he stared into the distance, absorbing Takarada's words.

The lieutenant looked away in his disappointment over Sada. "I had the same assumption but never could understand why. No matter who managed to perform this augmentation, it would still be able to save humanity if we managed to reproduce it."

"Perhaps, but it would also tread into territory many a man would deem unworthy of humans to put foot on."

Takarada rolled his eyes at that. "Of course. The only one standing in the way of humanity's progress is humanity itself." Altering human DNA, human guided evolution. To mess with the work of god. Some would say it was unethical to let science advance that far, yet Takarada had to ask those people: What was really the unethical thing to do here? To alter human DNA in order to overcome a virus that would kill billions of people or potentially sit on a cure for it and do nothing? To Takarada, the answer was clear, but many would still waver in what he considered to be a no-brainer question.

"Well, I am sure Sada thought the same thing back when we got in his way of experimenting on these evos."

"That's because his pursuit for knowledge was a bit too zealous for his own good. If you will allow me to be frank, I'll say that his research made him lose touch with his very own humanity way more than any genetic augmentation ever could have." Takarada said coldly as his face became rather expressionless. The face of a man who knew he shouldn't speak ill of the dead but yet couldn't completely refrain from showing disdain for the actions of said man.

"We are in agreement about that, lieutenant." Iwamoto nodded slowly at Takarada's words. Knowledge may have been power and therefore it certainly was important. But one should never lose sight of oneself. After all, what good was power when it controlled you, rather than the other way around? Sada's obsession with the evos had clearly driven him, rather than him making use of it. But the general digressed…

"So, in other words, we got nothing." He realized with an exhausted sigh.

"I'm afraid not, sir." Takarada confirmed as he put his tablet away once more.

Iwomoto closed his eyes, thinking. Well, this was certainly bad. He couldn't feasibly locate Shu in order to form a plan to capture him and he had nothing in his hand to offer to the public in order to regain their goodwill. If that's how it was, perhaps he should reconsider making a deal with Ouma Shu? He hated the brat out of personal reasons, but if it at least helped his men to survive in Tokyo, perhaps gulping down his pride and just doing it might really be the wiser choice. Besides, it was not like his name could suffer any more dishonor as it was. His military career was more or less over regardless of his actions from now on, so shouldn't he put his last days as a commanding officer to good use and help his men to the best of his abilities?

People would ridicule him for stepping as low as to cooperate with terrorists. It was a sign of weakness. Patriots would call him a coward, his own nation a traitor or even a terrorist as well, but if he did it right, he could take all of the blame and put it solely on his name, leaving his men free of any guilt. They would never be able to leave Tokyo again, but at least their names wouldn't be remembered as those of cowards and traitors. If at all possible, he would like his last act as commander to be him taking the hit for his soldiers.

But then he threw a look at the picture of his family on his desk and cursed as his anger flared up inside his heart again. To collaborate with the man who had separated him from his family in the first place was a heavy blow to take willingly. To put aside all the hatred he held for Ouma Shu for the sake of the men and women serving him dutifully. And it wasn't just that…once he brought so much shame on his family name, how would it possibly affect their future as well?

To be branded the wife and daughter of a traitor. Shunned and torn apart by coworkers, class mates and the press alike. As a soldier, Iwamoto had long ago resolved himself to die for his country and the people serving alongside him, but how could he die and leave his family behind with such a shame? They would resent him for that until the end of their lives.

Just as he was contemplating all this, the sound of breaking glass threw him out of his heavy train of thought. Looking up from the hands he had angrily buried his face in, he could see a darkish grey harpoon sticking in the wall opposite to the window that now had a hole in the matching size to the weapon in it. As weird as it was to see the classy object with an artistically crafted barbed blade and a beautiful crimson gem embedded into its pike, it was bound to get even weirder when he witnessed no one else but Ouma Shu appear in a white flash right next to it, holding said weapon. Letting go of it the very next second, the brunette king wasted no time to yell "Now!" into the room, followed by yet even _more_ people appearing in flashes that seemed to be originating from his…right arm? Wait, was that arm infected? It was covered in virus crystals…or could it be…a void?

"Wha-…" Takarada, among many, was seen taking a step back with wide open eyes.

Before anyone in the room could even begin to comprehend what the hell was going on, they were already assaulted by a group of void swinging terrorists who quickly made use of the element of surprise to subdue their adversaries before they could react. A few of Iwamoto's personnel attempted to draw their weapons once they realized they were under attack when they already were greeted with void blades, maces, guns and various other lethal weaponry aimed at their heads. Every soldier, be it guards, communication officers or even just Iwamoto's secretary were perched together and forced onto their knees, hands held up where their assaulters could see them. Even Iwamoto himself felt the barrel of a firearm being pressed against his temple before he had managed to aim at his attackers with the pistol he had drawn out of the inside of his uniform. Forced to give up, he slowly lowered the weapon again and put it on the desk in front of him, followed by raising his hands as well, albeit not without uttering an angry growl in the process.

"On your knees, scum!"

"You move, you die."

"No playing heroes here, alright? Wouldn't recommend it."

"We should put you into cages and see how you liked that for a change, eh?"

Shu's soldiers could be heard all across the room as they threatened their captives. Taking a look around, Arima who kept standing next to Shu yanked out his void harpoon from the wall it had been stuck in and said:

"Seems to be clear for now. Go. I will keep an eye on the hostages."

The king offered him a short nod and stepped forward to face Iwamoto. The female Genesis who held a snatched pistol against Iwamoto's head quickly lowered it once Shu had casually gestured for her to do so, obviously not feeling very threatened by Iwamoto regardless. True enough, Iwamoto was seen eying the woman coldly from the corner of his eyes, yet wasn't foolish enough to attempt grabbing the weapon on his desk again. Probably since he knew he would be dead before he ever got to use it if he tried to.

"Greetings, Major General Iwamoto. Good to finally see each other face to face at last." Shu started the conversation by addressing the general with a polite smile. A courtesy the man with the graying hair didn't return as he merely growled at him with a scowl in return.

"Ouma Shu…"

If the king minded, he sure as hell didn't let it show. Never losing his smile, he merely gestured for the general to take a seat. "Please, there is no need for you to keep standing. Be at ease as we discuss the future of this city together."

When the general didn't move an inch aside from eying Shu defiantly, Shu's kind smile showed signs of annoyance for the first time. Silently, he threw a glance towards the Genesis standing next to Iwamoto which could have been interpreted as: _"Would you mind…?"_

The woman n question understood immediately and with a nod, she took hold of the general's shoulder and effortlessly pressed him down into his chair.

"You were told to sit down, old man." She told him which earned her an angry glare from him, but nothing more. "See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Hmph." Iwamoto grunted in response. Seemingly not intimidated by that mere woman's power to force him into his chair single-handedly or at least that's what his pokerface suggested.

"I understand that you wouldn't be very interested in doing what I say, general. With it going against your pride and all." Shu said with a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "Which is why I am trying to make it easy for you, but please note that even my patience may grow thin eventually. And trust me, you do _not_ want to do this the hard way."

"Hah!" Iwamoto suddenly chuckled derisively and looked over at his lieutenant kneeling not far away from him, watching them from the sides. "Did you hear that, lieutenant? Assaulting people out of nowhere and threatening them at gunpoint is apparently the _easy_ way. But then again, what else was there to be expected from an immature brat who would crown himself king of some imaginary country. Behaving as barbaric as the regime he is trying to establish, I see."

"Alright, fine." The brunette king said with narrowed eyes and began to smirk. "Hard way it is, then. It's not like I expected stubborn old fools like you to be reasonable anyway." He put his hand into the inside of his coat to take out an earpiece and put it into his right ear, then he grabbed a holo tablet from one of his pockets and laid it on the table for Iwamoto to take.

"What's this…?" Iwamoto asked Shu with a raised brow as he took the tablet and shrugged in an unimpressed manner.

"You'll see once you turn it on. You won't like it, that's for sure." Shu told him with a mere shrug as he pressed the button on his earpiece. "Here's Shu. Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear. So how did it go?" He heard Yahiro's response. "Since you broke the radio silence, I assume everything went well and you are in?"

Shu only smirked at that and shrugged in amusement. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Hmph. Of course not." Ayase could be heard now. "Otherwise you wouldn't have been allowed to go in the first place."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Ayase, you can't tell a king what to do, you know." From the tone of Jun's voice, the king would assume the brunette man to be rather amused by Ayase's brash statement just now. It sounded like a teacher correcting a grade schooler with a knowing smirk and a raised finger.

"Well, Ayase might just be badass enough to try." Hare added with a quiet giggle.

While the king always enjoyed the conversations his friends' shared with each other, he kind of was in the middle of something important here, so he tried to get back to the topic: "I regret to announce that I have to kill the good mood now, unfortunately."

A sigh from Tsugumi followed his announcement. "He chose the hard way?"

"He sure did." Shu told her with a nod she couldn't even see.

She clicked her tongue and cursed. "That damn fool. Alright, I'll take care of the rest. You can start now."

"Thanks, Tsugumi."

"Are you quite done with your conversation, _your majesty_?" Iwamoto rudely interrupted after he had lost his patience waiting for Shu to finish talking to people he couldn't even see or hear. "Some nerve you have storming my command center only to take a goddamn call."

"Don't worry, general. I'm done. Now, back to the tablet, if you would." Shu kindly gestured for him to turn it on only to see that he already had. The holo screen that had come to life had greeted them all with nothing but a "no signal" warning.

"Having technical difficulties there, your lordship?" Iwamoto asked with a smug grin as he showed the tablet to Shu in quite the unimpressed manner. The brunette monarch, however, only smirked right back at him. The general would soon laugh no more.

True enough, once Tsugumi had done her magic, the image the tablet displayed changed and instead revealed a quite…unnerving sight. A living room could be seen, yet it wasn't in a state that would have made you feel right at home. For, you see, it was dark and the furniture that should have been arranged neatly to give off the impression of order and comfort was instead wildly scattered around in the room, either broken or otherwise damaged during what evidently must have been a struggle that had happened here earlier. Bullet holes could be seen on the walls as the camera was shook around clumsily by the guy filming the scene, probably using his phone to do it.

"It might be difficult to make out, but I am sure you can still recognize that place, no?" Shu asked Iwamoto with a confident grin after witnessing how the general's smug expression visibly crumbled and got replaced by one of shock.

"That looks like…my home?" He mumbled in quiet disbelief.

"That's because it is. What's left of it, anyway." Shu said coldly as he walked forward to grab the framed photograph of Iwamoto's wife and daughter resting on his desk. He eyed it with fake interest and smiled.

"Lovely family you have there. Cute little girl. It would be such a shame if something _unfortunate_ happened to her, don't you think?"

Iwamoto's shock made room for anger as he got up and yanked the photograph right from Shu's hands. "How dare you…!"

But Shu only chuckled amusedly and wagged his finger at Iwamoto. "Easy there, general. I would consider my words more careful if I were you." He nudged his head into the direction of the holo-tablet resting on the desk so that Iwamoto would shift his attention back to it. Once more his expression changed upon seeing the new images it provided. This time into concern.

The cameraman had turned around to show the other side of the living room this time, where a band of armed and masked soldiers stood. This, however wasn't as shocking to see as seeing the people they were guarding was. Kneeling on the ground with feet and hands bound together with the help of some rope, Iwamoto's wife and daughter were held at gunpoint by said soldiers. Their attempts to scream were countered by a piece of cloth wrapped around their mouths each. All they could express was their panic and fear that was evident by their wide open eyes and tears streaming down from them. Their muffled screams were incomprehensible.

"You bastard!" Upon seeing his family threatened this way, Iwamoto lost all composure and raised his fist in an attempt to punch the man who was standing in front of him and smugly grinning at him without a care in the world. Without even flinching at the general's attempt to harm him, Shu merely watched as the Genesis woman next to the older man grabbed his raised fist before it could find its target. Without even breaking a sweat, she simply forced him to put it behind him and pushed it against his back to disable him. Iwamoto groaned at the difference in strength, yet never stopped glaring at Shu angrily.

"Release them at once, you…!" He furiously yelled at him, but Shu only narrowed his eyes on him.

"Oh? I am sorry but was that a demand?" He turned around to look at Arima standing behind him, rhetorically asking him: "It was, wasn't it?" He faced Iwamoto again. "How odd. Could it be that you don't know how this whole hostages-situation thing works, general?"

"Don't play your stupid games with me, kid!" The military man growled angrily. "Do you honestly believe I would let you go through with threatening my family? Who do you think you are?"

Shu's expression became awfully serious. "That's the thing, general. I know who I am, but all you see me for is a mere terrorist, so I figured if that's what you want to believe, I should live up to the name. So, after seeing this, are you willing to listen to me now?"

"I don't listen to a terrorist's demands!" Iwamoto declared defiantly, causing Shu to sigh at him disappointedly while shaking his head.

"You really haven't thought this through now, have you? I have two hostages where I only need one. What do you think will happen if you won't cooperate?" The king's expression became dark as he continued to speak. "Or is it that you think I am bluffing?"

"A man who harms innocent people is no man at all. Who would follow the orders of a terrorist that can only get obedience through oppression and blackmail? The moment you put your hands on my family was the moment you disqualified as someone worth of respecting, let alone listen to."

Shu's cold facade crumbled for a second once he had heard that. Even though he knew he was in the right here, that he wasn't doing anything wrong, the general's words still struck true in his heart, for he actually agreed with them. He knew that being a king was more than just having fun and bossing people around. That there were obligations and that if one failed to meet these obligations, they would be dethroned soon enough. A king could either rule by fear or trust. And as much as he wanted to be the latter, he could tell he was already dangerously close to the former.

"You know, I am inclined to agree, Iwamoto." Shu thus responded with a weak smile before he banished his weakness once more in favor for a steeled expression as he continued: "Only scum stoops as low as to harm innocent people, and yet if this is what it takes to fulfill my objective, then I will do so without hesitation. Even if I become hated and feared by everyone around me, I will still do it. I will become the terrorist you made Japan believe I am. If needed to, I will terrorize and instill fear in the hearts of every citizen of Japan until I get back what was stolen from me. And I will let no one stand in my way, you understand? No one. And most certainly not you." He walked back a few steps and took the void sword of one of his Genesis followers before facing Iwamoto again and directing its blade at him coldly.

"So I will ask you this only one more time: Will you obey me, or…?"

The temperature in the room must have dropped significantly just from him uttering those words, for if one were to look closely, everyone in the room had gotten goose bumps as a result. But where the SDF soldiers stared at Shu with worry and fear, the former Mananites merely felt the familiar shiver of being in the presence of the Ouma bloodline. Their new king was apparently quite capable of sending out the same intimidating vibes as Mana once had. And while not everyone was particularly happy with that, all of them knew better than not to respect such a display of authority. But not so Iwamoto.

"Tch." Still being pinned by the woman behind him, the graying man could do little but close his eyes in disgust. "I would sooner die than obey a mad fool like you."

Shu lowered his sword and looked down at Iwamoto stoically. "Very well then. But first I shall start with your family."

"Don't you fucking dare, you son of a-!" The general tried to object, but was silenced by his female captor.

"Quiet down there, gramps." Was all she said as she slammed him against his desk forcefully to shut him up.

Yet despite his harsh treatment, he still managed to speak. "Even if you killed them…I would still never acknowledge you. You would have to be a moron to think I would ever do so once you have their blood on your hands!"

"You are right. Maybe it wouldn't change anything. Maybe it would all just be a huge waste of time. But even if it turns out to be just that, I will still show everyone here that disobedience will have consequences. And who knows? Maybe losing half your family might change your mind?"

"You madman! I will kill you, you hear me?"He then spat out in utter hatred. "You are dead!"

"Right, right." Shu merely waved his words off in disinterest, eying the general with boredom. "So, who do you want me to keep alive? The girl? Or your wife?"

"Go to hell, Ouma!" He growled at him, refusing to take part in his games. After all, there was no right answer to that question anyway.

"So you want me to kill them both? You are surprisingly heartless there, general. And here I thought you cared about your family."

"What does a ruthless bastard like you know of love and family? Don't speak of things you couldn't possibly understand!"

Shu frowned. "I know surprisingly well how you feel." He sighed and looked away. "And I am not as happy to do this as you might think, either."

"Then why do it?" Iwamoto's lieutenant suddenly butted in with an angry expression. "Why behave like a monster at all when you can still feel resentment towards your own actions?"

That's when the king merely turned halfway around to look at Takarada from the corner of his eyes.

"Because life isn't all about getting and doing the things you want. Your general wanted the hard way, I will do it the hard way. Simple as that." He faced Iwamoto again. "So, is your decision final? Should both die?"

Iwamoto was seen closing his eyes in anger and desperation. It was clear as day that he wanted neither of them to die. If anything, he would have been completely fine with dying himself, but saying so would have served him little purpose. The Shu he just got the displeasure of knowing wouldn't be kind enough to give him that option. Iwamoto had made the unfortunate realization that all his previous assumptions revolving around Ouma Shu had been completely wrong. Where he had assumed him to be a weak-willed, impulsive, albeit slightly clever youngster, he had now found out that instead, Shu was more akin to a heartless bastard stopping at nothing to get his point across. The foolish brat he had made him out to be had truly been the bane of humanity all along. One could even go as far as call him a demon rather than a man and Iwamoto wouldn't be able to deny those words. Not a speck of humanity could be seen in these ice cold brown eyes of his. Not by Iwamoto anyway.

And so all the general could do was gulping down his urge to beg for mercy for his family, for he was sure that this was all Shu was waiting for. A sign of weakness to exploit until he eventually got what he wanted from him. If it at least would result in his family being spared, Iwamoto would throw away his pride for them on the spot, but when faced with not a human adversary, but the devil himself, giving into them already marked your own defeat. Whatever Shu was planning to do with his family, no matter what Iwamoto would try to do, their fate was already decided. And if Iwamoto hated anything about all this situation, then it would be his powerlessness to change anything about it.

"Hm, it would appear the general has already resigned himself to your decision, my king." Arima stated rather coldly and with impatience in his voice. He probably wanted to get this farce over with as soon as possible so that he could get to talk with Shu about things he deemed to be _more_ _important_.

"Is that so?" The king thus responded with a disappointed sigh. Letting his eyes wander across the room, he eventually let his gaze fall upon the lieutenant from before, still kneeling on the ground not far from him. For a second, Shu appeared to think about something, then he wordlessly walked over to the man followed by kneeling next to him to be on the same eye level as him.

"What is it?" Takarada asked him defiantly.

"Your general is about to make a mistake he will likely regret for the rest of his life. As his underling, perhaps you would want to save him from committing a terrible mistake?"

"Don't you dare answer his question, Takarada!" Iwamoto was heard yelling behind Shu, but got eventually silenced by Shu summoning a certain medic's bandage void into his hand and ordering it to wrap itself around the loud man's mouth to shut him up.

"Don't mind the stubborn old fool, lieutenant. He is afraid of making a decision because if he did, that blood would be on him. But what he doesn't realize is that if he doesn't make a choice, he will lose everything as a whole. And tell me, what is more important? To have a white vest but nothing left to live for or having blood on your hands with people still worth living for? I think you know the right answer." The guilty king told him with a fake-looking smile to encourage him.

"This is…not my decision to make." The brunette lieutenant told him nervously while shaking his head unwillingly.

"Well, tough luck there, lieutenant. I just made it your decision. You will be the judge of who gets to live and who gets to die. Choose one or let both die. Pick wisely. Going once…" The king said nonchalantly as he raised one finger.

Visibly troubled by the sudden turn of events, he quickly looked around in a panicked fashion, attempting to find a way out. Shu, however, wouldn't give him enough time to think. Raising his second finger with a smirk, he kept going:

"Going twice…"

"I….I don't-…!" Unable to form a clear sentence, Takarada instead opted in on stammering mere fragments of it.

"Going three-" Shu already began raising his third finger and was about to close the deal when the brunette man in front of him hastily burst out:

"The girl, alright!?" Came his loud decision, followed by taking a deep breath and looking down. His reasoning followed afterwards, although in a calmer way. Sounding more…tired, defeated. "Spare the kid. She still has a future ahead of her…"

"Hm, I see…" Shu nodded at that, seemingly understanding where the man was coming from. "A reasonable choice, I suppose. Children are our future, after all."

Takarada let a sigh escape his lips and avoided the glare Iwamoto was sending his way. He knew he had acted against the general`s wishes of remaining silent, but in the end, he couldn't shoulder the responsibility of Shu potentially killing both. While having to pick one may have been a terrible choice to face, he thought he had at least picked the outcome no one could really blame him for, given the circumstances.

That was, of course, until Shu pressed the button on his intercom once more and simply said:

"Kill the girl."

With wide open eyes, everyone in the room merely regarded Shu in quiet disbelief. The lieutenant couldn't even help but yell out in shock. "WHAT! That's not what we agreed-"

"We agreed on nothing." Shu merely responded coldly, not even looking at the man as he shrugged. "I gave you the illusion of choice but in the end, you don't get to decide anything. Such is your role in all of this. I tell you how it's going to be and you accept it, whether you like it or not. And if you refuse, you get punished, just like Iwamoto is about to."

"Then why make me choose at all?" The young lieutenant shouted at him angrily.

"To show you that your choices don't matter. It's my way or no way. Got it?" He eyed the man sharply from the corner of his eyes, then faced away to make sure Iwamoto was watching the consequences of his defiance unfold right in front of him. Holding the holo screen in such a way that the general w as forced to look, the screen was soon showing one of the masked men in the living room undoing the young girl's shackles, followed by taking hold of her hand and yanking her up on her feet. He dragged her a few steps forward against her will and despite her heavy resistance, she was forced on her knees yet again in the center of the room. Iwamoto was seen struggling against his restraints similarly as the girl's mother was in the video transmission. Both cried and attempted to scream, yet their gagged mouths would only produce muffled sounds at best. Powerless as they were, they had to watch the man taking out a simple pistol from his belt, pulling back the slide on it to load up the first bullet and then wordlessly and without hesitation aimed it down at the poor girl's head. Scared to death as she was, she only could close her eyes in horror once she witnessed the clicking sound of the gun being loaded and directed at her. Tears streamed out of her eyes and she sobbed uncontrollably, yet no one aside from her mother seemed to really care.

The designated executioner took one last glance at the person holding the camera, seemingly waiting for his cue to pull the trigger. Something he didn't have to wait long for.

There was no sympathy, no remorse and certainly no hesitation in the guilty monarch's cold voice as he simply gave the order: "Do it."

And with just these two words, the sound of a gunshot was heard in the room, followed by it being plunged into silence, aside from Iwamoto's muffled scream, that was, followed by him sobbing uncontrollably afterwards as he watched his daughter's once shaking body now lie motionlessly on the floor, oozing out the precious red liquid that once sustained her now faded life. Shu merely watched him silently as no one else dared to speak up in that situation. After a while, however, he eventually removed Hare's void from the general so that the man could speak once again. With words still cold as ice, he then said:

"Now that you have seen the result of your resistance, I will ask you once more: Will you obey me?"

The graying man didn't respond, still looking at the holo screen in front of him with a broken heart. Losing her patience, the woman who had kept subduing him all this time attempted to make him talk.

"Oi, you were asked a ques-"

That's when Iwamoto used her moment of carelessness to elbow her right as she was leaning over him to grab him, followed by rapidly lifting his arm to make his fist connect with her face. As she grunted and stumbled back, he whirled around faster than even she could react and used his full momentum to hit her face once more with the very same fist he had just hit her with. Only this time, it was strong enough to knock her off her feet. From there, he used the moment of confusion to grab his gun that still rested on his desk and quickly pointed it at Shu with eyes flaring up with nothing but utter hatred.

"Die!"

For a brief second, you could see the king smirk in what seemed to be satisfaction before he pressed down on something in his void hand, followed by raising it quickly, revealing a familiar baseball-shaped canister whose lid now opened up to reveal a gleaming light to everyone in the room.

"Gah!"

"What the heck…"

"My eyes!"

While everyone was busy shielding their eyes from the bright light, Shu had swiftly made his move. Jumping forward, he smacked the blinded Iwamoto's wrist to make him loosen his grip on the gun, then caught it with his other hand. Once Iwamoto noticed what was going on, he blindly attempted to hit his adversary which, of course, was futile given his obvious handicap. As the king effortlessly dodged the blinded man's clumsy movements, he easily made his way behind the general and grabbed both of his arms to hold them together behind his back like you would normally see a cop subduing a criminal. Then he held Iwamoto's hands in place with his left hand and put his right one on the back of the older man' head. From there, the only thing left for him to do was to push it down against his desk with some force. The collision of the general's skull with the desk's wood produced a nasty sound and might have left an ugly bruise on the man's face, but as Shu didn't feel or hear the sound of bones breaking, he was sure he hadn't accidentally overdone it.

And just like that, the defiant general was subdued…again. His attempts to break free from the king's grip were met with nothing but failure as he utterly lacked the strength to do so.

Chuckling at that, Shu eventually asked the man: "Tell me, general. Do you hate me? Do you resent me?"

"Release me and I will just show you firsthand, you son of a goddamn bitch. I will _end_ you, even if it is the last thing I will be doing, you fucking murderer!"

To everyone's surprise, Shu actually offered the man an approving smile. "A good response, general. Even if not exactly a smart one. But understandable given the emotional turmoil I've let you go through. I want you to hold on to that feeling. It might be useful when directed against our _real_ enemies." Shu re-summoned Hare's void and used it to bind Iwamoto's hands together, then he let go of him, taking his gun with him. As he took back his spot in front of Iwamoto's desk, he playfully raised both arms to his sides and said with a smirk:

"Well then, general. You wanted to do things the hard way and reaped what you have sowed. Your family got captured, your daughter died. Your wife remains a hostage and ensures your absolute obedience. Should you still refuse, she would die as well and if that wouldn't break your spirit, in the end I would dispose of you as well to move down the list and force the next pitiful fool into submission the same way I did with you. With you being abandoned by the government and the public both, hope of ever getting the help needed to break free from my grasp becomes nil. Congratulations, Iwamoto. You have become my pawn to dance on my palm for the rest of your life if I so please. Bad end. You lose."

The brunette king was seen closing one of his eyes as he scratched the back of his head in a troubled fashion.

"Man, that _does_ sound pretty bad, huh? So what do you say, should we perhaps give the easy way a chance now? It can't possibly be worse, don't you think?"

Confusion found its way in the general's hateful eyes as he raised a brow. "What the hell are you talking about this time, Ouma? I've just about had it with you _stupid_ games!"

"Oh, I believe you will really like this one. Just watch."

Following the king's amused words, the holo screen still depicting the gruesome execution site lit up with the mysterious light of a void's power as both, Iwamoto`s wife and daughter began disappearing from sight and left behind nothing but silver threads dissolving themselves into thin air. The general's eyes widened up in confusion as he watched his family members simply vanishing from existence and needed a while to realize they hadn't been real all along. Only once the living room they had been held captive in began to flicker and fade in favor of showing him an empty warehouse of sorts in its place, did realization finally befall him. He had been played. The living room he had seen had been a holographic projection all along.

But even with that realization dawning on him, his mind was still way too worked up to let him respond in any meaningful way…and so instead all he managed to bring out was a confused: "….Wha…"

In the meantime, the execution squad finally removed their helmets that masked their faces and sighed in relief, revealing them to be nobody else but Shu's friends.

"Man, I knew it was all fake from the start but damn was that intense." Tsugumi said, sounding somewhat exhausted.

"Not for Yahiro, it wasn't. Shot that girl without the slightest bit of hesitation." Ayase's voice was heard, despite her not being seen on the screen. Turns out the cameraman had actually been a camerawoman all along.

The man in question was seen holstering his gun, then rubbing the fabric of his coat in annoyance.

"Speaking of which, I think the fake brat got blood on my clothes…how come that doesn't vanish as well?

"That's a bit cold, big brother." Jun said with a nervous smile. "Even when it was a fake."

"Classic Yahiro, caring more about his looks than shooting a girl." Ayase sighed in disbelief.

"Easy for you to say when you two don't get to walk around in this hideout like a freaking butcher."

While Shu's friends enjoyed their casual chat, Iwamoto gradually recovered from his shock and instead was seen pressing his eyes shut as he tried holding back his anger. Shu thought restraining the man was no longer needed, so he took Hare's void back into his possession.

" Ouma Shu…" Iwamoto finally said calmly, earning everyone's attention before he eventually slammed his desk with both hands and yelled furiously: "Do you think this is a motherfucking game!?"

"Well, considering your readiness to gamble with the lives of your own family, I could ask you the same…" Shu responded with a nonchalant shrug.

"Don't screw with me!" The general jelled as he kicked over his desk in fury and approached the king directly before being stopped by the monarch's guards. "Where is my family!?"

Shu could only sigh and spoke into his headset: "Tsugumi, put on the real feed."

"Gotcha, chief." On the Holo-screen, the dark haired hacker went over to her console and right afterwards, the image changed from the warehouse back to Iwamoto's living room, the real one, apparently. It was untouched and his wife was seen sitting there, watching the news worriedly. Iwamoto was so relieved to see her unharmed, he couldn't help but touch the holographic projection in a vain attempt of confirming its realness.

"The kid is upstairs, sleeping, before you think of accusing me of keeping her." Shu told him casually. "As you can see, we never actually went to your house, but that doesn't mean we couldn't." He added the last part with a cold undertone.

"How can I be sure this isn't another fake?" Iwamoto wanted to know.

"You could call her to check, but, as you said, this isn't a game, so let's just get back to business." The king told him with another sigh. He had places to be and a war to prepare, after all.

"What the hell is it you want, Ouma Shu?" The angry military man asked the king bitterly, now visibly way calmer than before. Naturally, since he didn't need to worry for his family's life anymore. At least for the moment.

"I want us to work together in defeating the real terrorists in this city. To achieve that, I came to bring you two offers, one of which you have already seen. Now, since the first offer was clearly not to your liking, shall we check out the alternative one?"Shu asked with a cheeky grin which clearly annoyed Iwamoto who furrowed his brows at him in disdain.

"Give me just one reason to hear you out after the stunt you just pulled."

"Simple, if you refuse, I will just go with the first offer. And next time it won't be fake." All of the king's playfulness vanished in an instant upon uttering these words, leaving no doubt about their seriousness. Even Iwamoto couldn't hide the fact that he had to gulp down his nervousness.

"Let's just hear him out, general." The lieutenant suggested hastily before Iwamoto could think of giving another stubborn response. "It won't hurt to hear it, no?"

"Why, thank you. Finally a reasonable suggestion coming from your side." Shu offered the lieutenant an approving smile before turning back to the general. "You should try following your lieutenant's example more, general. That guy is going places."

"Enough." Iwamoto grumbled angrily. "I will hear what you have to say, for now." After all, perhaps there was information to be gained from him, if anything.

"Right, so we witnessed what I could potentially do in order to make you do what I want. In truth, however, that's not how I particularly like to operate, mainly because it's the same way my enemies try to make me comply as well."

"Your enemies?" The general asked with a raised brow. "You can't be talking about us…"

"Of course not…" Shu told him while massaging the back of his neck. "Rather than an enemy, you guys were more of an annoyance, I suppose. Mainly because you refused to form an alliance with us and forced us to work around you rather than with you. That needs to change. We can't afford playing around like this any longer."

"An annoyance…" Iwamoto grumbled angrily, but Takarada was quick to get the conversation back on track:

"If you weren't talking about us, who is your enemy, exactly?" He asked.

"Loop seven, of course. The people in charge there used to back a rivaling queen who didn't really like my queen very much which is why the Genesis there didn't get along with my people at all."

Iwamoto raised a brow and threw a knowing look Takarada's way who chose to mirror his actions.

"Was that rivaling queen's name Mana, by chance?" Iwamoto asked carefully, trying to fill the gaps in his intelligence.

Shu gave himself mildly surprised upon hearing his sister's name.

"Why, yes. So you knew that much."

"The evos we captured kept mentioning a Mana, so that wasn't so hard to guess."

"The correct term for my people would be Genesis. Or _homo sapiens crystallus_ , according to Keido." The king added the last part with a shrug.

"Yeah, about that…"

Realizing where this was going, Shu quickly raised his hand and cut into the lieutenant's query, unwilling to waste too much time here: "If you want to know more about them and their creation, you should consider joining up with me and talk to Keido himself. He does know the most about that."

Iwamoto frowned at that. Shuichiro Keido was a man that had committed horrible crimes against the people of Japan and the world as a whole, so the mere suggestion to talk to him without arresting or even killing him was downright infuriating, but then again…there _was_ a lot of knowledge to be gained from that. Locking him up and probing him for information would be the better course of action, but he had his doubts this so called "king" would let him.

"So you are fighting Loop seven…" The general decided to disregard Keido for now in favor of keeping the conversation going. If he couldn't get Keido, he should try to get the most information out of Ouma Shu. "What would be your objective in doing that?"

The expression of the king darkened to such an extent, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped tenfold.

"After Mana's death, the queenless Genesis are now led by the organization that used to back her. They kidnapped my queen and tried to blackmail me into joining them in order to bring the apocalypse." He clenched his fists together with enough force to make them shake in anger. "I will stop at absolute nothing to get her back from them, even if I have to slaughter the Genesis standing in my way." An evil smirk appeared on the king's lips as he regarded Iwamoto mischievously. "You should know how I feel, don't you? I just gave you a taste of the way these people treat me, after all."

"That gave you no right to do what you did." The general shot back angrily.

"Ah, but your reaction was good. Your hatred for me was in no way inferior to mine for them, so if you managed to channel that hatred towards them instead, we could surely hit them where it hurts. Hard. Of course, I could make it worth your while, too. What do you say?"

"What could you possibly offer us?" Iwamoto said with a look full of suspicion. That brat may have been devious in his methods, but there was still hardly anything he could actually do for Iwamoto in his hopeless situation. The fact that this man was partly responsible for the mess he was currently in now, too, didn't inspire much confidence to choose to side with him.

"How does freedom sound?" Shu asked him with folded arms and a smug grin. "You help me getting my queen back and in return, I shall raze the quarantine walls for everyone in Tokyo to leave if they so desire. Of course, if you want to stay, I could offer you all citizenship instead."

A lot of gasps filled the room, mainly coming from Iwamoto's personnel. And naturally so. Iwamoto must have been far from the only one to make the connection that the quarantine area could possibly be a prison to them all forever. With the possibility that the SDF's public standing was irreversibly destroyed, the idea to back out of Tokyo was bound to gain traction. Nobody liked to fight a losing war. Still…

"The quarantine walls exist for a reason. If you end the quarantine, what would happen to the virus contained in here?" Iwamoto raised a valid concern to which Shu only shrugged in disinterest.

"Naturally it would spread, but that's hardly an issue. Vaccines exist and my queen can just offer every human residing inside Eden immunity."

"You keep mentioning your queen, but who is she? And how could she ensure people's immunity?" The lieutenant wanted to know.

"Her name is Yuzuriha Inori and she is Eve of the apocalypse. She basically controls the virus." He noticed how everyone in the room tensed up and was about to start an outcry which was why he quickly added: "Before you all throw a fit, she was _not_ the one to bring the virus back. Neither was I, for the record. That was Mana. The people who backed her wanted her to bring the apocalypse. Now that she is dead and Inori took her place, they want her to do the same."

"This is…outrageous!" Iwamoto growled in a mixture of fury and disbelief. The virus was actually controlled by a human being? And this abominable person's girlfriend nonetheless? Was he to belive such nonsense?

Then again, it would explain the sudden return of the virus somewhat and also fill in the gaps in the connection with it and Ouma Shu. The virus returned together with the evos. Shu could have brought back the virus whenever he had wanted if he truly had been in charge of it, yet the virus had only returned once the evos had. His claim that someone else controlled it did seem plausible…at least as long as you were willing to actually accept someone controlling a goddamn virus of all things.

Yet nothing of this really mattered. Whether he had brought back the virus himself or with the help of someone else, he was still guilty. Whatever he had done when he had snuck into Loop seven all those weeks ago had certainly led to the return of the virus. He was without a doubt responsible, no matter what kind of excuses he chose to spin around him. Iwamoto wouldn't believe a single one of them.

Still, showing open resistance, while obviously the right thing to do, would inevitably doom himself, his family and the rest of his men. Ouma Shu was powerful and had the higher ground in this situation. Iwamoto had to play this out smartly.

"Who are these people plotting to bring another apocalypse?" Takarada had asked in the meantime.

"A secret organization called Da'ath. They were behind the first apocalypses as well. Last time, they made up the majority of GHQ's forces." Shu explained to him patiently, being surprised when Takarade sighed at him with a frown.

"Da'ath? Are you serious, Mr. Ouma?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Because it's an urban legend. Next thing you are telling us the Illuminati are behind this as well?"

"Look, lieutenant. You can believe me or you can't, but the fact remains that _somebody_ in Loop seven aspires to use my queen for their shady business so you can either help me get her back and earn your freedom, or you can rot away in this hellhole forever, 'cause as it stands, I will either get my queen back and end this quarantine or I will fail and we all die here. Unless you are confident enough you could actually break free yourself?" Shu asked them with a challenging look.

"What makes you believe we would actually want you to break us free? These men and women came here to keep Toyko intact knowing full well they might never return." Iwamoto agrued against Shu who could only chuckle.

"Maybe so, but that was still when you had reason to assume the government was actually backing you. Now tell me, Iwamoto Takeshi, can you face your men with honesty and actually claim that was still the case? Do you really believe the government will support you in your quest to keep Tokyo and its population safe? You must have already realized by now: Tokyo has been abandoned. Nobody cares about us anymore which is why I say we should take matters into our own hands. The outside world thinks they can lock us up and keep the problem away. I say we raze the walls and force them to deal with the problem instead of shoving it onto someone else."

The general hummed, clearly thinking about Shu's words. That brat was quite observant to realize all that despite being an outsider. And he did have a point. If Tokyo really had been abandoned, which Iwamoto assumed as well, everyone living inside was bound to die in here sooner or later. While that may sound like the purpose of a quarantine, Iwamoto couldn't wholeheartedly support this practice, mainly because he clearly could see the signs of the people in charge not even doing their best to help. If the government had actually done everything in their might to fix the situation, Iwamoto could have accepted his fate of dying here…but as it stood, the government has just thrown them away like trash and basically left them for dead. Dying for such a cause felt empty. There was no honor to be gained from it. It was, frankly speaking, a waste. So, if the government has abandoned them, Iwamoto had no qualms with doing the same. He wouldn't want to have his men die for some bigshots thinking they could send them in here and be done with it, after all.

But there was the problem of freeing the virus…if the virus was allowed to leave Tokyo, it would eventually infect everyone on the outside as well, including his family…true, there were vaccines to prevent death, but still…

That being said, Iwamoto hardly had a choice, had he? If he refused Ouma Shu here, he could simply force him to comply and endanger his family either way. As if he would let him! There had to be another way…

Wait a second, what if…

"So, do I understand this correctly, Ouma Shu? You want us to help you rescuing your girlfriend in exchange of freeing us, yes?"

"That's correct." The king nodded calmly.

"That means we are to join forces and eliminate the hostile forces in loop seven, correct?"

"Indeed. That should align with your interest as well, no?"

That was true. Loop seven was a threat to Tokyo no matter how you looked at it. Getting rid of it was something that needed to be done regardless of the situation. So, let's just say Iwamoto formed an alliance with this so called king of Eden to destroy the Loop Seven opposition and rescue that queen of his. He would have to deliver on his promise and free them all as he could hardly survive in Tokyo as long as the walls remained intact. Until they get to that point, Iwamoto, as an ally, would have enough time to get close to that queen that is said to control the virus, assuming what Ouma Shu had told him was actually true. The general could use this opportunity to learn more about the enemy and confirm Shu's words for himself. And, if this so called Inori Yuzuriha really was the root of this trouble, perhaps a well thought out assassination could end this mess once and for all? Even if it wouldn't stop the virus from ravaging the world, it could spread enough chaos for Iwamoto and his men to escape from Tokyo. He could reunite with his family and attempt to leave the country. He still had powerful associates that could help him slip through the blockade surrounding Japan. The things he would potentially learn from this so called "alliance" could pose to become a bargaining chip he could potentially use to buy himself and his family into freedom. He was sure the Russian, Chinese, European or American government would be eager to learn of this threat before it reached their shores, after all. The more he would learn in the meantime, the better his chances became.

Yes, the infection of the apocalypse virus would spread in this scenario, but as weird as it sounded, it might have still been the best outcome for him, his men and his family. After all, Shu had been right. Vaccines _did_ exist. And if Iwamoto played his cards correctly, he could get his revenge on not only Ouma Shu for blackmailing him and deceiving the Japanese population, he could also get payback on the government who decided to use him and his men as sacrificial pawns. It would serve them right to have to deal with the virus spreading after refusing to help him containing it inside Tokyo. And it would teach that insolent king to mess with Iwamoto's family, too, seeing how his lover wasn't untouchable, either. Give that brat a taste of his own medicine, so to say.

This could be a chance. And maybe the only one he ever would get. His expression became dark once he realized that following this plan would make him a renegade, but what did it even matter in the end? If everyone had abandoned him, who could blame him for abandoning everyone else as well? To hell with the SDF and to hell with Ouma Shu. Iwamoto Takeshi would now be carving out his own fate for himself and his men.

But first things first:

"I will be frank here, Ouma Shu. I absolutely despise you and your methods and I will never acknowledge your so called kingdom, but you hardly leave me any other choice but to accept your proposal. That being said, if you really want us to work together, you would have to do certain things for us first, as I am sure you already understand yourself."

Shu, for his part, could only smirk with folded arms.

"Oh, trust me, general. The feeling's mutual. Working with a stubborn old fool such as yourself is bound to be a huge pain in the ass, but luckily for us, we don't have to become friends. Only allies. And yes, I am aware that I first need to mend your public image I have shattered for you to remain operational inside Tokyo. For that reason, I intend for you and I to make another broadcast in which I will try to undo the damage I did in my last one. Needless to say, you will also have to play your part from now on. Regardless of the fact of you staying in Eden once this is all over or not, for the remainder of our alliance, you will be working under me. So you better make peace with the fact that you no longer are the SDF, but part of the royal army of Eden. Is that much clear?"

Iwamoto frowned in displeasure, clearly not happy to go that far. However, it was a necessary evil, he supposed. He eyed Takarada and asked: "What do you think, lieutenant' Do you think Koruba and the men will keep following me once I did that? Would you?"

"Under normal circumstances, you would be running into danger of facing mutiny." The brunette man stated while readjusting his glasses, followed by offering him a calm smile. "But I think under these circumstances, you will likely find a lot of support. At least from me, that is. Lieutenant Koruba is also a reasonable man and should understand that this is just something we will have to accept for now. It's either this or…well…you know." The man gulped and Iwamoto nodded in agreement. They hardly were in the position to refuse, as he was well aware. He sighed and looked at Shu once more.

"Very well, then. I shall accept your proposal, Ouma Shu." He extended his right hand towards the brunette king. "Until we have defeated our enemies in Loop seven and freed your woman as well as ourselves, we shall remain allies."

"A wise decision, general." The king said as he accepted the general's handshake. "You will hear from my people soon regarding our next moves. Please note that I expect absolute cooperation from your side from now on. It is crucial for our success." Following this, he gave his men the signal to free the hostages and return to his side. His men were quick to comply. Both forces eyed each other coldly, but no one attempted to draw their weapons on the other, which was good enough for Shu for now.

"With this I will take my leave if that's fine with you?" Shu stated as he prepared himself to depart. However, lieutenant Takarada surprised them all by asking:

"General, asking for permission to accompany the king of Eden for the time being."

"What? Why?" Both Iwamoto and Shu asked the the same time.

"Ouma Shu is the leader of the evos, er, I mean Genesis, right? Wouldn't hurt to find out more about them, no?" He offered Iwamoto before turning to Shu. "Also, there is a certain individual I need to locate. She is a Genesis, so I would stand better chances at your base of operation, wouldn't I?"

Both men frowned at him. He wasn't wrong, but…

It was dangerous, Iwamoto thought. If Ouma Shu were to realize Iwamoto secretly planned to betray him the first chance he got, Takerada was sure to die…but gathering intelligence through him would be very efficient. Takarada wouldn't feed him false intel, after all.

He didn't need some military spy/informant following him around, Shu thought. What a pain. Then again, it would be a sign of goodwill to accept the SDF into his ranks. Right now, Shu was positive he came off as a pushy overlord forcing his subjects into submission. Perhaps if he could show this lieutenant that his kingdom wasn't as bad and oppressive as it would seem, the relationship between the former SDF and his kingdom could improve and form a more reliable alliance than merely the one they had forged out of convenience? It would be nice to have genuine support from a human faction for once. The betrayal of the Undertakers still was a sore spot for the brunette monarch. If he wanted a kingdom in which Genesis and humans truly could coexist in peace, accepting Takerada could possibly be the first step into that direction.

Sighing after coming to that realization, the king eventually said: "Fine with me, I suppose. But he will have to behave." He told the general.

Hearing this, Iwamoto closed his eyes for a second and thought about it. When he opened his eyes, he asked his lieutenant: "Are you sure about this, lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir. I think that it would be in everyone's interest for me to go."

"Very well. If this is what you think, I will permit it. We will stay in touch."

"Yes, sir." He saluted dutifully, then approached Shu. "I will be in your care for the time being, Mr. Ouma."

"That's king Ouma to you." One of the Genesis escorting Shu told him harshly.

"Er, alright. King Ouma, then. My bad."

"Welcome aboard, lieutenant." Shu casually greeted the man into his ranks, following by checking if everyone was with him before finally announcing: "If this is all, I will be on my way then, general."

"Yes. I suppose you will find the exit with Takerada with you yourselves? I will tell lieutenant Koruba to let you pass should you run into him on your way out."

"Thank you. Until next time." Shu gave a polite bow and turned around to head for the door, being closely accompanied by his followers who had assumed a defensive formation around him with him in the center. Before he left through the door, however, he added one more thing:

"General, I am sure I don't need to say this, but it would be unwise to try and betray me. I would hate to shoot a little girl for real next time. Remember that." Then he simply walked out of the room without waiting for the general's response.

It was quiet in the room for a short while before Iwamoto eventually kicked over a wastebasket in fury. "Son of a damn bitch. Don't think this is over just yet."

-GC-

"Mission successful, guys. Send over a guy to pick us up." Shu reported in satisfaction as he spoke into his earpiece. He then sighed tiredly and massaged the back of his neck. This talk with the general had drained him. It's been a while since he had had to act like a heartless monster. He surprisingly was still rather good at it. Somehow he wondered whether that was a good or a bad thing.

"Good job, Shu. That should get us a step closer to victory." Yahiro praised him, oblivious to the king's heavy thoughts.

"As expected of Shu." Hare agreed proudly.

"Still a long way to go, though. Even with the SDF, conquering Loop seven will be a tough nut to crack." Ayase admitted worriedly.

"That's true." The king agreed with her." We will need to prepare carefully. But for today, I think we have done good."

"Not looking forward to having to integrate the Mananites we rescued, though." Jun mumbled in disgust. "That's bound to be a pain."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Shu said as he threw a knowing look into Arima's way who sent a cold look right back to him, yet remained silent for the time being. That guy was bound to be trouble for sure. It was never easy, was it?

"Do you trust the SDF to actually honor the alliance, though?" Yahiro asked him skeptically. "I can't help but wonder if they won't just attack us the moment they know where we are."

"Of course I don't trust them. But if Iwamoto tries something funny, we will know what there is to do. I am not gonna play nicely next time and told him as such. If he wants to betray us, he will be sorry."

"Are you sure this is a conversation you want me to hear?" Lieutenant Takarada asked him nervously as he walked next to him, even if he couldn't hear what the other side said, just hearing Shu's responses was enough to paint oneself a picture.

The brunette king couldn't help but smirk. "Of course. If the general asks what I am planning, you can tell him what I just said. You and your general would be well advised not to underestimate me, lieutenant." He then dropped his smirk in favor of a friendlier expression. "But enough of that. You had a reason to follow me. Tell me, what is it?"

"I am looking for my sister. I believe she might be a…Genesis, was it?"

The brunette king nodded understandingly. "I see, I see. What's her name?"

"Takarada Ritsu, sir."

Shu stopped walking on the spot, eying him in disbelief.

"Did you just say Ritsu, lieutenant?"

The man's eyes lit up hopefully. "Yes, sir. Do you know her?"

"Unfortunately, I do…" He told him with a frown as he resumed his path. Looking around, lieutenant Takarada noticed that he was far from the only one to share that expression.

"Never knew that bitch had family…" One of the soldiers murmured angrily.

"I know, right? I heard she sold out her own mother for some jewelry."

"I heard it was just for fun." Arima added with an amused chuckle.

"I heard her mother wanted to kill her as soon as she had given birth because she realized Ritsu was a demon."

"Aw, come on! Even I wouldn't believe that one." The soldiers laughed at their own jokes.

"Enough! That's not funny!" The lieutenant yelled and attempted to shut the people around him up by shoving the closest one against another one rudely. "I do not know what you guys' problem is, but I will let you know that Ritsu is a good and lovely girl with a pure heart and soul."

That was the moment everyone around him burst out into vehement laughter. Even Shu couldn't keep a straight face.

"Good one, man."

"Yeah guys, come on. Everybody knows Saint Ritsu descends the battlefield on her angelic white wings and punishes evil."

"Yeah, she will transform into a magical girl and yell: _"In the name of justice, I will punish you!""_

"Guys, stop. I'm gonna piss myself."

Although Shu found this whole conversation funny as well, he eventually felt the need to end it once he saw lieutenant Takarada getting dangerously close to the boiling point at which even his discipline might have ended up failing him.

"Enough, everyone. We aren't home yet, so eyes forward and mouths closed." He ordered, although his voice betrayed him when he tried to hide his own amusement in this topic. Noticing this, his followers smirked, yet complied.

"Yes, my liege."

"Don't take it too personal, lieutenant." Shu then directed his words towards the angry man. "But you likely won't hear many good things about your sister."

"I noticed…" He grumbled as he eyed everyone around him angrily, who attempted to not look at him in order to avoid laughing again. One had to chuckle and got elbowed by his friend next to him to make him snap out of it. "But at least I have confirmation that she is alive, so there is that. What else can you tell me about her?"

"I think we should continue this conversation in private…" Shu told him as he gestured to the people around them. The brunette military officer saw himself forced to agree, albeit not without a bitter expression.

"Seems you have many people wanting to talk to you, _my_ _king_." Arima noted casually, looking forward in a bored manner before throwing a quick glance into Shu's direction. "Hope you haven't forgotten me."

"How could I ever…?" The guilty monarch rolled his eyes at him. "It's not like you remind me every time I look into your general direction."

"Smartass." Arima growled in annoyance.

"Pain in the ass." Shu shot back.

"I see, you get along just fine with your subjects, _King Ouma_." Lieutenant Takarada noted with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up, both of you. This has been far too long a day as it is." He told them as he massaged his temples in attempt to prevent a headache to start acting up. He missed Inori. Her soothing silence beat this annoying bickering any day. It was even better when he caught her subconsciously humming a song to herself. Now THAT was something worth listening to, let him tell you.

Much to the king's relief, the rest of the journey ended up being one of silence as well. His soldiers would keep talking to themselves quietly, but he was able to block them out. Takarada spent most of his time talking to another lieutenant on the radio, explaining him what had happened which was annoying, but it was better than having him probe him with more questions regarding that bitch Ritsu. He would have never thought he would end up going to war with a Takarada again. Shu frowned. If this lieutenant ended up being anything like his sister, he definitely couldn't be trusted. Perhaps he should ditch him somewhere to be sure? If he had known about his blood beforehand, he wouldn't have taken him with him, that's for sure. What a pain. At least Iwamoto won't try doing something funny while his lieutenant was with him…right?

And don't get him started on Arima who seemed to be an absolute loyalist to the previous queen. The last thing he needed was some idiot stirring up trouble by rallying up his Genesis against him, not that Shu thought he would actually succeed in doing that. Shu thought he enjoyed a good standing right now and intended to keep it that way, but who knew how his people back home would react to the news of him coming back with a bunch of Mananites? There was no doubt he would have to deal with this issue sooner than later. If only Inori was here…she was good with talking Genesis into getting along. She had done so for many years…maybe Jun could help him out somehow?

He yawned. Man, just thinking about this got him tired as hell. How late was it already? He sure hoped he would actually get enough time to sleep before he was plunged headfirst into yet another battle, be it a mental or physical one.

Sure enough, by the time they ran into this Lieutenant Koruba guarding the entrance to the airport, he let them pass without a fight. Either Iwamoto or Takarada had managed to relay the information in time for them to avoid any trouble. While the Genesis and human soldiers couldn't avoid eying each other warily, no one acted up and Shu managed to leave the airport without another fight. The civilian crowd from before was nowhere to be seen, the only indication of them ever having been here had been the giant hole in the fence as well as the burnt barricades. The police and a couple ambulances were seen nearby, but Shu and his followers avoided making contact and simply snuck out where the eyes of the public were unable to see them. Then they decided to wait for their ride in some barely lit parking lot near the airport.

About five minutes later, a military SUV rounded the corner and came to a halt in front of them. Shu's bodyguards drew their voids warily, but got quickly ordered to put them down once the king recognized the driver to be Jimmy who greeted them with a frown. "Oi, that ought to be a tight squeeze if you all want to get in here."

"Don't worry, we can reduce the number drastically." Shu assured him as he held out his void arm. Getting the message, the former Mananites got into his void one after another. Arima, however, chose to stay outside with folded arms, clearly not seeing the need to comply which annoyed Shu, but not enough to waste his time and breath on arguing about it. Under the watchful eye of the Genesis soldier on the mounted gun on top of the SUV, Shu gestured for Takarada and Arima to get in on the backseat, while he went around and entered the front seat next to Jimmy.

"Congratulations on your successful mission, my king." Jimmy complimented him with a thumbs-up before he commenced to drive them back home.

"Thanks. I am glad we managed to finish this without having to shed too much blood." He told him while letting his head rest on his hand tiredly.

"Aye, this could have been a mess if we had simply stormed them head on."

"True, that strategy seldom pays out." Takarada agreed with him.

"And who are you?"

"Takarada Ritsu's brother." Arima told him with a smirk, causing Jimmy to nearly lose control of the vehicle in surprise as he turned around to face them.

"That bitch got a brother?"

"Oi, eyes on the road, big guy!" Shu scolded him angrily while hitting his shoulder.

"I would _really_ appreciate if you would _stop_ referring to my sister in that way…" Takarada replied with eyes shut from anger, trying to patiently control the urge to hit Jimmy. Not least because attacking the driver of the vehicle one was sitting in might not have been the smartest thing to do…

"Leaving Mr. Onii-chan aside…" Jimmy muttered to Shu. "What does _that_ bastard do here?" He nudged his head into Arima's direction. This earned him a raised brow from the king.

"You know him?"

"'Course I know him. Bastard is the leader of Judgment. Or what's left of it anyway." The American added the last part with an annoyed roll of the eyes.

"What was that? You got something to say there?" The dark haired man in the back growled at Jimmy.

"Your filthy Mananites killed more of my friends than I can count. I say we just put a bullet in him and dump his corpse into the nearest river, Shu." The US soldier suggested while sending an ice cold glare back to Arima with the help of the vehicle's driving mirror. A glare the black haired man sent right back at him.

"You are welcome to try."

"Enough!" The king commanded harshly. "Or I will kick both of you out and let you WALK back."

Following this threat, the car was plunged into silence as everyone was unwilling to take Shu up on that offer. And so they quietly drove off into the night, back to a hideout that was, without a doubt, about to become even livelier than before.

Shu just hoped it wasn't about to become a hornet's nest that had been kicked open. That was pretty much the last thing he needed. However, if the atmosphere in this car was any indication, a hornet's nest was what he was about to get. He sighed.

Kingship sure sucked. And yet, ultimately it was a small price to pay to be with Inori.

He was willing to go to war for her, might as well do politics, too. How hard could it be?

He frowned. Don't answer that question.

He would think about it later. But now…just for a moment…

…let him rest.

His eyelids grew heavy, as did his head…now leaning against the window to his right, he gradually felt his mind slip away. Sleep would undoubtedly be short lived, but heck if he wouldn't try to get the most enjoyment out of it as he possibly could.

After all, who knew when he would get another moment of peace and quiet as the king of this troublesome kingdom where he could consider himself lucky to merely hear people arguing with each other by the time he woke up again, rather than the sound of them ripping out each other's throats…

…

On second thought, perhaps he should scratch that nap, after all…


End file.
